BLESSINGS FOR THE RICH AND HUMBLE
James 1:9-12
Trials and difficulties. They affect us all. No one is immune for them. It doesn’t matter how rich you are or how poor you are, they will remove all barriers and boundaries between us. You’ve been through them. I’ve been through them. Every week when I come to prayer meetings, and I’m not just talking about at SEFC, I always hear requests for physical healing, salvation of a loved one, or someone is having a problem in their life. Let me say if you are going through a difficult time, we want to know about it. I can’t promise I can make it go away, but I can promise you I will listen and pray with you, and be there for you. I don’t know about you, but when I’m going through a difficult time, I always appreciate it when someone comes alongside of me and lets me know he or she is there. I don’t need a lot of high powered advice or for them to fire Bible verses at me; I just want to know they care.
I always like the example of Job’s friends. Just listen to this.
Job 2:11 ¶ When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.
Job 2:12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.
Job 2:13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
I remember when KC was going to die, and it was very hard on me. It was my day to teach an English lesson to the CS class. We normally meet at 8:30AM to pray and I was in tears about KC. Mr Yamamuro prayed, and I did not understand everything he was praying but I heard him mention me and KC several times. And I appreciated that. Afterward he put his arm around me and let me cry. You don’t know how much I appreciated that. That’s what Job’s friends did. That’s what we need when we are in distress. That’s the kind of friend I want to be to someone.
I won’t go any further on this, because if you read the rest of Job, you will see that his friend’s advice was well meaning but wrong.
There are some things we need to remember when we are going through trials. First let’s review. Does anyone remember the 4 steps we looked at last time? Be joyful, because the trial is what God is using to produce patience and perseverence in you. Be persistent because it is a chance for you to grow in your faith. Because you see, the result of this is that we will be complete. God wants us to be mature Christians, not baby Christians. And often the only way to grow is through these difficulties. The last point is to be be wise. We can ask God for wisdom, but we need to believe Him when He gives us wisdom without doubting.
Someone wrote that it is probably good to begin this message with verse 12, because it says the one who perserveres under trial is blessed. We’ll look at this later.
Let’s contrast the rich and the humble. Verse 9 tells us about the humble.
James 1:9 ¶ The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.
This is interesting, because James says the person in humble circumstances needs to take pride because he is in a high position. We need to understand who he is referring to because we will contrast this with the rich in the next verse. Most likely James is talking about someone who may not be materially rich and he may have been brought low through a trial.
See the person who is perservering through a trial is in a high position because he is also in a position where he can appreciate his eternal glory in Christ. Let’s go back to Job. He was a man who had it all…and lost it all. I remember going through a very difficult time 20 years ago, when I was brought lower than I have ever been. I was a dental student. That was what I really wanted more than anything else, to be a dentist. It didn’t happen immediately…I applied twice to get into dental school and was turned down both times. And by then I was perfectly happy to pursue whatever God wanted for me, even if it wasn’t dental school. Did I ever tell you that as a young Christian I was afraid to completely give my life to Jesus, because I was afraid that instead of going to dental school, he would make me go to Dallas Theological Seminary instead. You know this isn’t the main point of my message, but I heard a message on this yesterday, so let’s look at it anyway.
Romans 12:1 ¶ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
In view of God’s mercy and grace we are to present ourselves to Him as an act of worship. We are not to live like the world, but to be made more like Jesus. The result of this is we can can know God’s will and it is good. Read these verses if you are having trouble deciding if God’s will is good for you or not.
OK, back to dental school A few years later I decided to try one more time to get into dental school This time I got in to my first choice of dental schools, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. It was one of the top dental schools in the country, and for the past several years it has been #1. I was blessed indeed.
It was difficult being a full time student again after being out of school for several years but I was able to get used to the heavy load, and while it was heavy, I enjoyed my classes and my classmates. I failed one of the lab courses and was given the chance to retake it in the summer, with every expectation both from me and my professor that I would really do well. I didn’t and as result I faced the possibility of being dismissed or kicked out of dental school. I decided to withdraw on my own. You know by that time, it was OK, if I wasn’t going to be a dentist. But I was telling a friend that what I really missed was the fellowship and commonality I had with my classmates. Most of them were not Christians. They knew I was and they respected me for it. But like I also told my friend, I found that I needed to be a friend to them whether they were Christians or not. Because when I was having a difficult time, they were there for me. And if you don’t be a friend to them, you will find yourself without friends. I didn’t know what else God had for me, and it was difficult, because I also didn’t have a job.
I had also asked my Friday night Bible study to pray for me for a wife, because I was the only single man in the Bible study and didn’t like it. The next weekend I met a woman at a singles function at church. I won’t go into all the details but it was one of those things where you meet someone and instantly think, she is the one, and you have to be together all the time. Believe me, my emotions were running on high!
A few weeks later she dumped me. To say I was at the bottom would be an understatement. I like the way Josh McDowell put it; when I heard him say, “I wasn’t at the bottom of the bucket looking up, I was looking up at the bottom of the bucket. It was really a time when I was really at a low. One of my pastors stood by me and helped me through it. His wife shared this verse with me, and I’d like to share it with you.
Psalm 23:1 A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
Actually she gave me a different translation, “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.” She wrote me a letter and asked me if I really believe that, being that I had no job, no wife, no close friends and a large debt.
Friends, that is what it is like to be brought low. You may not feel like it, but it is something as James said, we can take pride in our high position. When you have nothing you are really in a low position. All you have is God Himself. That’s when you need to really lean on Him every second of the day, because you don’t have it in you to get through by yourself.
I was fortunate that through the encouragement of this pastor, who met with me every week for the next several months, I made it through. And remember the verse in Romans I shared? I really felt like Israel in the wilderness; abandoned by God. What I didn’t know was He had better plans for me. I discovered my spiritual gift was teaching, and a year after quitting dental school, I began classes at Dallas Seminary. Remember what I said I was afraid God would make me go there instead of dental school. I liked seminary much better anyway, and I’d rather be preaching God’s word than filling cavities. A year later I served in Korea as a summer missionary. It was my first time in the Orient, and certainly not my last.
When you are brought low like this, and trusting in God, you can glory in this because you are in a high position.
All over the Bible we see warnings about pride. Let’s look at verse 10.
James 1:10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.
This verse says that if you are rich, you are in a low position. I think when James mentions riches, he is probably talking about one who is materially rich; he has a lot of wealth, and a lot of possessions. Go to Roppongi Hills and you know what I’m talking about. There are also parts on my country that are the same way. I remember when I lived in Houston. There was a section known as River Oaks. It was where people who had millions of dollars lived. Here you call apartment’s mansions. In my country, a mansion is a very big house. Often it is the size of this entire church, or bigger.
People boast in their riches. But we need to understand the temporality of riches. James will describe that in this verse and the next one.
James 1:11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
James uses nature to describe these. Bottom line is that plants don’t live forever. I have never been into gardening, but I always like looking at gardens, especially with pretty flowers. My mother liked to keep plants. Simone liked to eat them. When I took Simone to my place I made sure not to get plants. It was always fun to watch the plants blossom and grow. Once fully blossomed they were really pretty. But as James describes it, they get withered, their blossoms fall and their beauty is destroyed. Let me read this passage to you in Isaiah, because it’s very much like this one.
Isaiah 40:6 A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
Isaiah 40:7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah uses this passage to show that as humans we are not always faithful, in contrast to God’s word which is eternal. Israel’s suffering is over, and there is the promise of the One who will come
You can accumulate all the “stuff” you want in your life. There is no limit to how much you can get. But you will not take it with you when you die. John D Rockefeller was one of the world’s richest men. His net worth was $318 billion. Can anyone tell me how much he left behind when he died? All of it.
Or maybe you’ve heard, how many funeral hearses do you see pulling a UHaul?
Riches are temporary. Go to Roppongi Hills and look at all the condominiums. I like taking the monorail to Tokyo Haneda Airport because we pass through a rich section of town where I see many high rise condominiums. One day they will no longer be here. Even if Tokyo doesn’t get a big earthquake, one day they will be gone.
See, one who is rich and has it all, needs to realize he is in a very humble position, because his riches will not last for eternity. Many of you have been reading in the newspapers or watching TV about the economic crisis in my country. People invest a lot of money in stocks, and when the value of their stocks go down, they get panicky. I know of people who have made unwise investments and they lose everything. We can’t put our confidence in riches, because they are only temporal. So is everything else in this life. Except God and His word.
Because you might be rich, but you’re not immune from trials. I remember a very wealthy family in Houston, who’s daughter was tragically killed in a car accident. Dr Trevor Maybery who was my doctor and a friend, and a very godly Christian was killed in a small plane crash with 3 other equally prominent Christians. All of them left behind wives and children.
When I was a dental student in San Antonio, I remember hearing a man share how he got his house paid off and he was bragging, “it’s all mine now.” The next day the house was destroyed in a fire.
What are we to do in light of this? Because none of us are immune from trials. They come in all sizes, shapes and forms. They affect the rich and the poor. Probably everyone in here has gone through some very difficult trials at one time or another. And if you haven’t, don’t worry you will.
I think we need to remember what James reminds us in verse 12, to persevere. Because we will receive an award if we do.
James 1:12 ¶ Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Does this verse remind you of anything? Remember the Beattitudes? How did Jesus start each one? To be blessed means to be fortunate, or happy. It means to receive divine favor. And that’s what James is saying, if you persevere under trial you will receive divine favor. Because remember what we talked about last week? Unless you can see your trials the way God sees them, you are more likely to curse your bad luck and complain. You will probably ask why are you having to go through this, and why is God doing this to me? Do you all remember what it means to persevere? It means to bear up under. Think of carrying something very heavy on your back. I keep referring to the movie Facing the Giants, so I’ll give an example. Brock Kelley who was the team captain and a potential leader had a bad attitude. During practice, Coach Taylor made the players do a drill called the Death Crawl. They had to carry another player on their back. This was in Georgia, where it was also mushi atsui des.
Coach Taylor really wanted to break Brock’s attitude and pride, so he had him do the Death Crawl blindfolded. Except he pushed him much further than he thought he could do. This is a good example of what it means to bear up under. Now you may not have to do the Death Crawl but get what I’m saying? If you bear up under when you are being tried, you are blessed and will receive an award. All through the Death Crawl, you can hear Coach Taylor yelling, “don’t quit, don’t quit.” And that’s what James is telling us; don’t quit, don’t quit.
You see, when you have stood the test you will receive the crown of life. What exactly is the crown of life? Some think it is a reward we will receive in heaven. Others think it is the quality of life you will experience; life at it’s best. But you see, it’s not for everyone. Because how does James finish this verse? It is only for those who love Jesus. Too bad this isn’t Jesus Way and we can sing Love Jesus.
You see, the crown of life isn’t just for anyone. You might be a Christian, but you’re not really loving Jesus. How do you know if you love Jesus?
John 14:15 ¶ "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
Jesus told His disciples this in the Upper Room, before He was arrested. We love Jesus by obeying Him. Do you love Jesus? Then you won’t steal my Rolex if I leave it here. If you know something is not pleasing to Him, you won’t do it. And like Peter, if you really want to be used by Jesus, you must love Him.
See if we don’t see our trials like God sees them we will end up like Esau? Do you all know what Esau did? Let me give you a little background about him.
In Genesis 25, Rachel, Jacob’s wife was pregnant with twins. Esau was the first one born. Does anyone remember who the second one was? Hint hint, this book is named after him.
Now Jacob isn’t at the top of my list of favorite Bible characters. Do you know why? He was one who manipulated people to get what he wanted from them. And as the second born, he was not entitled to the birthright Esau was. So he played on Esau’s hunger and agreed to let him have a bowl of lentil stew, if he would sell Jacob his birthright.
Hebrews 12:16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
He forfeited all of that. If you read about Esau in Genesis, it is one of the sadder stories of the Bible. The Bible does not speak highly of him. If you’re not one who perseveres through trials and loves Jesus, you are like Esau. I don’t want to be an Esau, and I don’t think you do either. Because Esau, as a first born son had an inheritance that was only for a first born son. I don’t know all the rights he had, but they were reserved for him.
If you choose to be like Esau, you won’t lose your salvation. Eternal life is still a gift, and when God gives a gift He doesn’t change His mind and take it back. But you will lose out on the blessings He wants you to have, both now, and in heaven with loss of reward.
The Bible speaks of the many treasures we have as Christians. I don’t have time to go into all of them now, but you might do a study on treasures on your own. We should all get together sometime and watch this movie, Facing the Giants because you always hear me referring to it. Coach Grant Taylor has been head football coach at Shiloh Christian School for 7 years now, and every year has been a losing season. When someone says, it’s about average, Coach Taylor, says, “I’m so sick of average seasons.” Do you want your life to be an average life? Or do you want it to be a life with every good thing God has for you now and in eternity? You can have this life, but it is only for those who love God and persevere through trial.
You know that time in my life when I had to quit dental school, my girlfriend dumped me, I didn’t have a job was one of the lowest times in my life. It was tempting to give up and quit. But I didn’t. I’m glad I didn’t because when I thought God was finished with me, He had plans for me I couldn’t even imagine. There is a reward when we love God and persevere through trials. Let’s all meet in heaven and we can claim our crown of life together. Let’s pray.
