19 Enduring to the End
The Book of James Series
By Pastor Jim May
James is still talking about the rich man as he comes to the closing verses of his epistle. There is no hiding of the facts that some people seem to be blessed more than others. There is a general acknowledgement that being rich doesn’t mean that you are blessed, neither does it mean that you are in the center of God’s will if you are poor.
James is only concerned with the attitude and condition of the heart, regardless of which side of the issue you find yourself on. It is the condition of the heart that determines how you look at the riches that another man may have, and then compare that to the lack that you may have.
Benjamin Franklin once said that, “It is the eyes of other people that ruin us. If all but myself were blind, I should want neither a fine house nor fine furniture.” That’s so true. How much more could we enjoy life if we were not trying to impress other people, or compare what they have with what we have.
How often do we feel at least some intimidation around the rich, upper class members of our society? Do we sometimes look at the wealth, influence and station in life of other people and then, like the 10 spies of Israel sent out to check out the Promised Land, we automatically assume that they are bigger, better and/or stronger than we are?
Even if we don’t think of them as bigger, better or stronger, we often find ourselves involved in comparisons, thinking that we are less of a person than they are because they have so much more of this world’s goods.
It is not a sin to be rich, nor is it a sin to be poor. Where sin enters the picture is when we look at someone else with jealousy, greed and envy in our hearts, and we begin to begrudge them for what they have, or who they are.
There is no condemnation of the rich man because of his riches, until those riches destroy his relationship with God. Sin isn’t in the money – it’s in the love of that money.
There is no condemnation of the poor man because of his poverty, until his poverty comes between him and God and he is willing to sell his soul to the devil to get out of his condition. Again, it is the love of money that becomes the sin.
That is the reason then that we see what James says in chapter 5, verse 9, “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.”
Don’t begrudge your neighbor for the blessings in his life, whether they are of a physical nature or of a spiritual nature. Don’t fret yourself because they have what you don’t have. Don’t put on a front of having a don’t care attitude while on the inside you are envious of him. Most of the time, you won’t have to say anything because your actions toward your brother will prove your true heart and there will be no way to hide it.
Having a begrudging spirit may hurt your neighbor, but it will do much more damage to your own soul.
Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival. One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, "I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?" The man frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!"
What a fool! He would rather lose an eye than to see his neighbor blessed.
I have seen this same attitude in action on a personal level.
Some years ago I was involved in a business where my “upline” stood to make a percentage of everything I made for myself. All he had to do was sit back and wait for the money to come. He didn’t have to sell anything, talk to anyone or anything else. All he had to do was sit and wait for the blessings to come his way.
But that wasn’t good enough. He begrudged the fact that I was growing faster than he was and getting most of the recognition. In the end, his jealousy destroyed my business, but it also destroyed his income. We both lost in the end because of envy and jealousy.
I’ve also seen this same thing happening in the church. God forbid that one church, or one ministry would be blessed more than another.
Who can forget the conflict between two of the greatest Televangelists that once held audiences captive across the nation? One from Baton Rouge and the other from New Orleans. A bitter rivalry and jealousy arose where each began to accuse the other of stealing their membership and infringing upon their territory. Did they not understand that there were plenty of sinner to be saved, and that huge ministries could have been built, with both of them being very successful?
Why then was there such a rivalry? It was all driven by power, money and influence. Each saw the other as a threat to their own survival. Jealousy turned to hatred. Hatred turned into mistrust. Finally mistrust turned into illegal and immoral activity on both sides. They wound up in court, fighting for what they thought was their rights. In the end both of them lost. Today, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and Marvin Gorman Ministries are but a hollow shell of what they once were and fall very short of where they could have been. It all came crashing down because of a root of bitter envy.
But the envy and jealousy didn’t stop with those two ministries. It’s still going on in some fashion every where you look. Churches and ministries, preachers and pastors seem to be in competition with one another all the time, trying to see who can outdo the other and build the biggest buildings, gain the most recognition and become the most praiseworthy of men.
Meanwhile, what is happening to the individual souls in the pews? Bitter envy, jealousy and greed; the quest for power and control; the love of recognition; and the pride of life that brings it all together, will be the downfall of many more preachers before Jesus comes if the Lord tarries.
The Bible declares that judgment must begin at the House of God. God will judge sin, especially sin in the church and in the heart of those who are called by His name.
Again, in James 5:9, we read the warnings of the disciple to the church as he says, Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. If you begrudge one another; if you envy one another; if you have jealousy one toward another, then don’t forget that the Judge of the Universe is walking in the church and watching your every move. Jesus stands at the door of your heart, and in the entrance way of the church, and nothing escapes his view. Every spirit of jealousy; every spirit of envy and every spirit of greed and pride are not of God and will face the fire of His wrath.
We must learn to develop the spirit and attitude that the Apostle Paul had in Philippians 4:11-12, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." How could Paul be content no matter what condition he was in? It was because he understand and knew that God was in control of all things that it was God who determined what condition Paul should be facing at any given moment.
That’s what Paul meant when he said those words in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." If God gave him the strength and it was in his will for Paul, then Paul would abound in the things of the world as well as the things of the Spirit. But if God determined that Paul would better abound in the realm of the Spirit when he was lacking of the things of the world, then so be it. It’s all God’s will, so let God handle it and move on.
Another thing that James was trying to tell us when he said that the Judge stands before the door, is that none of the things that we are so envious and jealous of will mean anything much longer anyway. The Judge standing at the door also tells us that Jesus is coming soon. Then all of those things that we were jealous over will be burned away. We had best be careful of the attitude of our hearts lest we burn away with them in God’s fiery judgment.
James 5:10, "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience."
Let us look at the example of the prophets and men of God down through the ages and see what their example can teach us.
Abraham was a rich man by the world’s standards, yet he was still called the Friend of God because of his faithfulness. His wealth and power didn’t save him. He put it to good use in the saving of his house on a number of occasions, but it never came between him and his God.
Take many of the prophets who lived on the backside of the desert. Some of them lacked the proper food, clothing and many never had any land or property that they could claim as their own. Yet because of their faithfulness they are greatly honored by God himself.
God poured out his anointing power upon them and they did mighty works for the Kingdom of God. He revealed the secrets of His Word to those prophets who then turned around and wrote them down for future generations as the Holy Spirit guided their minds and hands while they wrote. They were sent forth to destroy the enemies of God, to pronounce judgment against evil men and to proclaim blessings to those who served the Lord with all their heart. Some of them endured cruel persecution, beatings, imprisonment and even death for their testimony and for the cause of Christ.
They are both an example to us of suffering for Jesus and of being victorious in Christ. But most of all, they are examples to us of being over comers of the world and of the devil, and they have blazed a trail for us to follow in order to make Heaven our eternal home.
James 5:11, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
Jesus said in Matthew 10:22, "… he that endureth to the end shall be saved."
What will you have to endure? Will you endure the bitter envy and jealousy of those who are less fortunate? Will you have to endure being rich in the eyes of the world, and withstand their anger and hatred because God has blessed you with an abundance, knowing that you will be a good steward of what he has allowed you to have in your hands?
Sometimes being rich in this world’s goods can seem like a curse. Every where you go, the poor of the world will look upon you with envy and will try to accuse you of doing wrong. They will never be satisfied, even if your wealth is given to them, for it isn’t just your wealth that they envy, but your relationship with God, that only acts as a mirror to reveal their own sin against God.
Will you have to endure the attacks of the devil against your life, your home, your family and your possessions as Job did? He didn’t do anything to deserve the things that Satan brought against him, but he had to endure them. It wasn’t easy to sit by and watch it all happen when he was powerless to stop any of it. He had a hard time even understanding that his suffering was actually bringing glory to God because Job’s faith held strong. Enduring it all meant that God was first in his life and proved the devil wrong in all of his accusations. Will you have to endure like Job? Many have done so.
Will you have to endure persecution, torture and imprisonment for the cause of Christ? Many of our missionaries, and even some of those who are preachers in our own country have had to endure these hardships. Will your endurance of these things bring glory to God?
What about enduring the hardships of being a poor man? Many of us have known times of great lack in the things that we need in life. We can see many around us in the same boat. Yet in the midst of it all, our lack brings God glory because we do not become envious of others and we remain strong and faithful to God. Your life of being faithful in the midst of adversity brings Glory to God.
When others see that you are taking it all in stride with a smile on your face and without falling apart, they will see that it is your faith in God that brings you through. That’s when God gets the glory for your endurance.
The end of the matter is simply this: in the end we win. No matter what our station in life, if we remain faithful to the end, we cannot lose. Heaven is our eternal reward and the things of this life will fade into nothingness.
We have read the end of the book. We have discovered the end of all things. and because we have, we can and will endure to the end.
We must not allow a spirit of jealousy, envy, greed and pride to enter in. We must allow all things in our lives to bring glory to God. In the end we will win it all and whatever price of endurance that we have had to pay in this life will be worth it all.
All too often we sell our victory for a temporary blessing that will vanish in the end.
Leo Tolstoy, the Russion author, once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot in life. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a great offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, with his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, with blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was just about six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy’s story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
In the end, nothing of this world will matter. All the things that we think are so important now will disappear in the flames.
In the end all that will matter is that we will be receive a Crown of Life that never fades away. We will be crowned with glory and honor as we enter Heaven’s Gates. And we will be rewarded with an everlasting joy in the presence of the Lord. No price is too great to pay so that we can get there, and all we have to do is endure to the end.
