Rich Little
James 51-6
Introduction
A well-worn one dollar bill and a similarly distressed twenty dollar bill arrived at a Federal Reserve Bank to be retired. As they moved along the conveyor belt to be burned, they struck up a conversation.
The twenty dollar bill reminisced about its travels all over the county. "I’ve had a pretty good life," the twenty proclaimed. "Why I’ve been to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the finest restaurants in New York, performances on Broadway, and even a cruise to the Caribbean."
"Wow!" said the one dollar bill. "You’ve really had an exciting life!"
"So tell me," says the twenty, "where have you been throughout your lifetime?"
The one dollar bill replies, "Oh, I’ve been to the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Lutheran Church ...."
The twenty dollar bill interrupts, "What’s a church?"
We really should not be joking about money today. Money can be hazardous to your health. Two medical researchers at the University of Louisville have been looking into the question and have found that "13% of the coins and 42% of the paper money carry disease-producing organisms." Small denomination coins and bills are more dangerous because of their rapid turnover. Percentage of all paper money in the U.S. that contains traces of cocaine: 97%. (I had better not see anyone sniffing or licking the offering plate this morning.)
Weep and Wail
James 5:1 - Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.
Weep and wail implies expresses another level of distress. The agony will be a double portion. It is a deep, deep down distress, anguish to the "nth" degree. Scripture does not tell us what the calamity was to strike the rich but it was to be horrible not does it tell us if it refers to this life to the next.
Notice that it is coming upon them now. I might refer to the fact that the rich receive their reward now instead of the kingdom.
I believe James was referring to the moment when Jesus revealed an important truth about the Kingdom of Heaven to the disciples. Jesus said in Matthew 19:24,
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God’"
Corrupted Cash
James 5:2 - Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.
Wealth in this verse means the grain stores, the supplies needed to exist day to day. It has stayed in the storehouses so long it is spoiling.
Rotted comes from the Greek word (sepo) which means to "cause rot or corrupt". The idea is that a person hoards all there is and keeps it instead of sharing with others and it spoils where it sits.
Billy Graham said "there is nothing wrong with possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men."
James 5:3 - Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
The riches, gold, silver, precious metals, have all begun to rust away. The Greek word means they are oxidizing quickly.
But why are they rusting away? It is unused and sitting in the same spot. The owner has no intention of ever touching it. He will not part with any of it even though he owes people money. He is stealing from the poor; the poor, who need it to feed themselves, feed their family and provide for basic daily needs.
"Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches as to conceive how others can be in want."
James 5:4 - Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
The verse leans on what has been said, you have hoarded and as a product, you have cheated and stolen from everyone around you. The problem for the rich man is that they have called Almighty God.
The movie The Shawshank Redemption tells of the brutal life of an innocent inmate in the 1930s-40s. On the wall of the warden’s office hung a stitching that said, "Judgment cometh and that right soon". In other words your time is coming. Get ready to be judged. It is time to reap what you sow.
James 5:5-6 - You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
This is a very powerful and harsh statement. The luxury and self indulgence mean that this rich man has lived without fear of anything or anyone because of his dollars.
He has feed every desire a person can have and not just those concerning food. He has led a life of debauchery and scandal. This guy makes Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears look like little angels.
The Greek implies that he has led a life so indulgent that he can no longer feel anything about anything. It is not that his heart is hardened so much as it has been consumed to the point there’s nothing left.
Last but not least, justice has been corrupted. The rich get off and the poor pay the price. Indirectly he has caused the deaths of many because the poor are ignored and perish without thought to their death.
Cashing In
So what is wrong with money? Absolutely nothing! Biblically, money is neither good nor evil. It is the attitude, acquisition and application of money that is the problem or the blessing.
Let me take a second and see what went wrong with the rich man.
• He hoarded everything he had.
• Because he hoarded everything and would not give anything up, he cheated anytime he could so he could keep his wealth.
• His failure to pay his workmen resulted in their going hungry, possibly to the point of dying.
• He wasted his life on the goal of acquisition of wealth.
• He allowed possessions to consume his life completely.
All of this reminds me of the rich man who had all he needed. He had hoarded all he had, saved everything, and had set himself up to live the good life forever more. He had done it all himself and was ready to enjoy but the angel appeared and said, "You fool, your life will be forfeit this very night." Implying, he is destined to hell.
Money will buy a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food but not appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but not health; luxuries but not culture; amusements but not happiness; religion but not salvation; a passport to everywhere but heaven.
Even Napoleon Bonaparte recognized this truth, "Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them." "If you want to take your riches into the life to come, convert them into good deeds."
From Debt to Life
So what do we do to avoid the pitfalls and problems of the rich? Some of you might say this morning you are not rich and these verses do not apply to you but that’s not true. According to the world economy we in the United States hold 70% of the world’s wealth. Even our poorest poor are wealthier than the world. By every definition we are rich!
Attitude
Our attitude needs to change when it comes to wealth. First, our wealth is not the true wealth. It will eventually rot, rust, and ruin. It won’t last, it is temporary.
In my childhood I collected coins. It was my hobby. During WW II copper was a very valuable metal used in the war effort. The U.S. Mint was asked to produce a steel penny so in 1943 they did just that. One day I ran across 3 steel pennies in mint condition. I bought them, went home, and put them in my book for pennies. Six months later I found another penny I was looking for and put it in the book. For curiosity I took out the steel pennies and was shocked. The front was still beautiful but the back had reacted to the paper in the book. Each penny was eaten and green. It had rotted. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20,
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
All true riches come from God and nowhere else. These riches will not rust, rot, or come to ruin because they are based on an eternal Lord. What are they? Riches from the Lord include joy, peace, contentment, lack of worry and a host of many more.
Acquisition
First, all good things come from God. If you have a job, food on the table, as roof over your head, or anything that is good, it is from the Lord to you. You have been given the gift of work. You have been given your specific job from the Lord. The bible reminds us to do our work not as though we work for the man" but for our Lord.
The scriptures are also very clear we are to work for what we get. It even says if you don’t work you also will not eat. Work was in the beginning, it is one of our original intents. We were meant to work. Adam had a job. He was to name the animals.
Application
Analysts believe that we all should have 3 months salary in savings for emergencies and some even say 6 months. Truth be told most people in this wealthy country owe vast amounts on credit cards. Why, because we see a want and we charge it. Our lives are not about needs but wants now. Spending is out of control. It is evidence that money has us, we don’t have money.
We need to recognize we will be held accountable for what we have. You have been blessed with a job, money, home/house, car, etc. and we are to use it wisely. Don’t hoard it all, don’t be foolish and don’t waste it. There will come a time when a heavenly audit will be done.
We are to view money as a tool, not as our God. It is true that money helps in providing food, clothing, and shelter but in the end it will rot like everything else. Allow money to meet your needs and nothing more. Don’t allow it to consume your life. Use what you have left over to feed the poor, to help the helpless, and to do kingdom work wherever you find it.
The final step in using everything you own wisely is to give your life to Jesus Christ this morning as your Lord and Savior. Why, because He has made the most important payment in your life, the payment for our sin. I encourage you to remember this
"G-R-A-C-E is Gods Riches At Christ’s Expense".
D L Moody, an American evangelist of the last century, would quote St. Paul’s words, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:19): Here is a bank cheque. The firm, "My God"; the promise, "shall supply"; the amount, "all you need"; the capital, "his riches"; the address of the bank, "in glory"; the signature, "Christ Jesus". Then he would add, "This cheque must be endorsed by the person to whom it is made payable."
