God Will Drain The Swamp (James 5:1-11) Series

The past three weeks, we've focused on James 4. The central, overriding idea in this chapter is that God expects his people to have whole-hearted commitment to himself. We have to choose between friendship with God, and friendship with the world. We can't try to have it both ways. God expects us to be all-in for him.

Now, how do we know if we've compromised in this? Normally, with adultery, you'd think the answer is pretty straightforward. You've either compromised, or you haven't. But either way, you know.

But the type of adultery James describes is a little more sneaky. A little less straightforward. When we shift from being friends with God, to friends with the world, it tends to be a slow drift. It's gradual, and we might not even be aware of what we're doing. All we know, if we look back at our lives, is that at some point, our priorities changed. The things we fill our minds with, have changed. What we want from life, has changed. God, and his kingdom, and his church, have become far less important. Other things have taken their place.

James understands all of this. He knows you maybe didn't intend to become friends with the world. You maybe didn't want to become an adulterer. It just sort of happened. The worst part, though, is that you might not even realize what you've done.

And so what James did, in the verses we read last week-- James 4:13-17-- was help us wrestle with whether or not we've compromised. He did this by painting us a picture of one type of adulterer. We were forced to look at this picture, and decide if we were seeing ourselves. I'd like to start today by rereading these verses. Let's hold

up the mirror a second time:

(13) Come now, the ones saying--

"Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,

and we will do/spend a year there,

and we will buy and sell,

and we will profit,"--

(14) [you] who don't know what will happen tomorrow-- of what type of life you'll have.

For smoke/vapor you are-- which for a little time becomes visible.

Then also disappears.

(15) In place of this, you should say,

"If the Lord wants/wills/consents, we will both live and do/spend this or that."

(16) Now, you now boast in your pretences/posturings/braggings.

All such boasting, evil, it is. ["Evil" is focused]

(17) And so then, to the one who knows to do good, and doesn't do it, sin to him it is.

The type of adulterer James describes here thinks he is in total control of his future. He will decide the when, and where, and how long, and what, of his life. He is the one who determines his success-- his smarts, and careful planning, and hard work, will be enough.

In all of this, he has a few sinful problems-- he doesn't understand his frailty. He boasts, making sure others know his plans. He places limits on how much good he will do.

But his main problem, I think, is that the path he is taking in life has the wrong starting point. His focus isn't on what his Lord and Master desires. If you start with what God wants for you, you will make plans. But those plans will flexible. They will be open to God's input, and to God opening and closing doors. And perhaps most importantly, you will leave room in your plans for loving your neighbor as yourself. Ideally, as you go through life, you will be like Good Samaritans. And when you see people in need, you will have compassion on them, and help, regardless with how much it costs you in money, and time, and inconvenience-- regardless with whether or not it interferes with your plans.

James continues his letter, in what we call James chapter 5, by painting a second picture of an adulterer. He starts out the same way, with a call to "come now." It's like a call to listen, and think. And we will find ourselves forced, a second time, to look at his picture, and decide if we are seeing ourselves. For those of us with some money, and wealth, it's going to be hard to look at this picture. I'll just read through the whole thing:

(5:1) Come now, the rich ones, wail,

crying out because of your difficulties/suffering approaching you.

(2) Your riches have rotted/decayed,

and your clothing, moth-eaten, it has become ("moth-eaten" is focused).

(3) Your gold and silver have rusted/tarnished,

and their rust/tarnish (for) a witness against you, it will be,

and it will eat/consume your flesh like fire.

You stored up treasure in the last days.

(4) LOOK! The wages of the workers reaping your fields-- the ones being defrauded by you-- cry out,