Trading Places
James 1:9-11 9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 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.
Intro: James writes about the rich and the poor in today’s reading, but it is important to remember that James is writing primarily to Jews who are facing some very serious trials and tests. He tells them to consider it pure joy when they face different kinds of trials because they are learning to trust God and become complete in Him. Some of their trials may have included social persecution for their faith, or possibly living on the short end of favoritism from some of the people in their own church family. So James writes to encourage the poor and to correct wrong attitudes about those who overlook or mistreat them.
-Jesus had a lot to say about poverty and riches. 16 of His parables dealt with money/possessions. 1 out of every 10 verses in the gospels (288) deals directly with money. The Bible has 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2000 that deal with money/possessions. So the way we use whatever wealth we have is pretty important to God. Even a poor man can be greedy.
-George Barna conducted a survey that showed 50% of Christians consider money to the primary indicator of success. 19% of Christians believe you can tell how successful a person is by examining what they own. It is difficult to avoid being products of our culture. However, the Bible offers us guidance and answers to how we should view wealth and poverty. Some of the richest people on this earth have nothing to show for themselves financially! Some of the most impoverished souls are those who have exchanged what really mattered for what amounts to a temporary permit.
-Maybe you heard about the man who loved his money so much that just before he died, he told his wife, “When I die, I want you to put all my money in the casket with me. I want to take it into the afterlife with me.” She promised him that she would.
At his funeral, just before the undertakers closed the casket, his wife put a box in the casket. The casket was closed and rolled away.
The wife’s friend said, “I know you didn’t put all that money in there with that man. You weren’t foolish enough to do that.”
The wife said, “I promised him I would put the money in the casket.”
“You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him?” her friend asked.
“Yes,” she said, “I wrote him a check.”
-Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature that creates happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one. If it satisfies one want, it doubles and triples that want another way."
-John D. Rockefeller Jr. wrote "The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money".
-It is unfair to say that all rich people are selfish and bent on evil. Consider such Godly men as Abraham, Job, King David, Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea. However, it would be fair to say that throughout history, oppression and cruelty have generally slithered down the social ladder more frequently than up. With wealth comes power, influence, and leadership. The poor may revolt but are often overpowered and outnumbered. It seems like the haves usually win over the have-nots.
-Back in the early 80’s a movie came out called Trading Places. Two snobby rich brothers make a bet centered around the question of whether breeding or opportunity plays the greater role in success. They effectively swap the life situation of a successful business manager with a street hustler. The business manager loses everything and his life becomes pitiful and filled with despair. The street hustler becomes successful but overhears the brothers talking about the bet and then works with the former business manager to bring the brothers down.
-Well, the idea of trading places was entrenched in both Jewish and early Christian tradition. However, the reversal of fortunes was not expected in this lifetime, but at the end of time. The poor would enter into eternal joy and the rich would pass away like a wilting flower beneath the scorching Middle Eastern sun. Here is the main thought I hope to get across today:
Prop: This life gives us a temporary opportunity to trade our old life for a new one in Christ. (Let’s look at a few thoughts in relation to this trade.)
I. A Proper Response to Poverty (9)
-Poverty can test your faith. This verse is preceded and followed by the theme of facing tests and trials. People who live in poverty respond to it in a variety of ways. Some accept it as normal knowing no other way to live. Some attempt to earn enough money to escape it. Some blame it on injustice or mistreatment from others. And among other responses, some develop a solid trust in God to provide for their basic needs on a daily basis. So, the trial of poverty is being unhappy and envious. Yet it doesn’t have to be that way.
-James speaks about the Lofty Status of the Poor – lofty in the sense that the Lord is the defender and provider for those who live in poverty, who do not know how their basic needs will be met. The Bible shows us very clearly how much God cares for the poor.
Exodus 23:11 …during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it
Leviticus 19:15 Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
1 Samuel 2:7-8 7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.
Psalm 140:12 12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.
Proverbs 14:31 31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 19:17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.
Proverbs 22:22-23 22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, 23 for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.
Proverbs 28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
-The NT also tells believers to remember to treat the poor with love and do something to help them when you are able. This is very pleasing to God! Selfishness and greed, however, have no place in the heart of a Christ follower.
-The poverty test lies in how we would respond to poverty if faced with it. Would we grumble and complain and play the blame game, or would we be joyful, knowing that we can trust God to provide every physical and spiritual need we have? The poor can rejoice because they are learning patient endurance and learning to trust God.
II. A Proper Response to Prosperity (10-11)
-Riches can also test your faith in God. Wealth has a tendency to so confuse a human being’s perspective that it can lead to eternal consequences. It takes deliberate action to keep our priorities straight in this culture. As one man said, “We live better than the kings of years gone by. Caesar couldn’t have contacted anyone in the world on a moment’s notice. King Solomon didn’t have access to 1/10 of the knowledge we have at our fingertips. In the scope of world history, we are among the wealthiest 1%, the elite of history. And that is why some of the truths of Scripture are hard for us to grasp sometimes. That is why we misunderstand the words about the rich, because they are speaking to us. You see, the trial that rich people go through is that they, we, tend to believe ourselves to be self-sufficient. We tend to trust in ourselves so much that we can’t bring ourselves to trust in God.”
-When a rich person trusts in their wealth and applauds themselves for earning such a fortune, it must sound kind of silly to God. It reminds me of gathering rocks, shells and sand dollars on the beach (which I love to do btw). I’ve spent hours filling bags full of these little treasures. At times I was pretty proud of myself because I had more than the next person. But after traveling back home with them in the car, these treasures weren’t quite as cherished. They started to stink. Days or weeks later most of them were broken or just stored in a can or bag somewhere doing nobody any good.
-When the rich are overly proud of their wealth, it is like a kid saying, “I picked up more rocks than you did.” Well, who made the rocks? How long will you get to keep them? And who gets to have them after you’re gone? People base their value on how many rocks they pick up in this life – and the rocks aren’t even theirs to keep! How silly!
-Deuteronomy 8:17-18 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth….”
-James talks about the Low Status of the Wealthy. For a wealthy Christian this could mean low in the sense of servanthood- using the resources God has blessed you with to serve others. Also low in that the wealth is only temporary. The economy of death and dying renders everyone penniless. But true riches await those who trust in Jesus.
-Jesus indicated that it was very hard for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom (easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle). In another place Jesus said the cares and riches of this world choked the life out of the seed of God’s word that had been planted in the heart of a rich person. Matthew 13:22 “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
-So does that mean that having wealth is a bad thing? It doesn’t have to be. Again, several Bible characters were wealthy, but they used their wealth to honor God and to help those in need around them. Also, they did not put their trust in it to give them their sense of value. True worth comes only from the One who is worthy – worthy of all that we are and do.
-So, we have poor people and wealthy people here on this earth. Even those among us who struggle financially are considered wealthy in comparison to much of our world. This idea of the rich and the poor trading places in the end appeals to the poor. Many of them would like to trade places now, but then they’d face the trials of the wealthy. Let’s look at one final point that shows us how trading places works for all of our benefit.
III. A Proper Response to God
-Neither poverty nor material wealth determine the value of a man. The final measure of a man or a woman is based on their response to their Creator. All human beings have value because God created them. However, we must be redeemed. Here in Oregon we are able to take certain bottles and cans in and redeem them for their cash value. Whoever bought them paid a cash deposit in advance. However the bottles or cans must be turned in. Likewise, we must turn ourselves in – present ourselves to the Lord. He is the One who paid the price to redeem us and He is the One who can bring out our true value.
-Paul writes in II Corinthians 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." That describes what Jesus did by dying as a payment for our sins. He left the riches of heaven behind and became poor. He was born into a poor family and accumulated no worldly possessions. He surrendered Himself to torture and abuse, and a criminal’s death as He died loving the very people who were killing Him- you and me! Our sin is what sent Him to the cross. It wasn’t just the Jews or the Romans. He did it for you and me.
-So the proper response to such an amazing God is to say yes to Him. “Lord, I accept Your trade. You gave Yourself for me, now I give myself to You. I receive the gift of forgiveness from You. I am sorry for my sins and failures. I want to trade my life for Your life.”
-If you haven’t prayed that prayer, asking God to forgive you and redeem you for His purposes, you can talk to Him and take care of that right here, right now. Now even though you may not quite understand how this all works, let me assure you that it is as simple as a lady accepting a proposal from her man. He asks if she will marry him and she says, “Yes. I will.” Then they commit to each other and exchange rings and start their new life together.
-When you respond to God’s offer of doing life with Him, you say, “Yes, Lord. I will join my life with Yours. Yes, I commit myself to You. I give You my heart.” Then you start a new life with Him. If you are a man that might sound kind of funny to you. But it isn’t a gender issue with Jesus. It is a spiritual relationship of love and loyalty that changes us from who we were to who He created us to be. When we come to Jesus in this way we can expect to receive forgiveness, inner cleansing, a change of heart, healing, deliverance from addictions, power to love, and so much more!
-So if you want this, I’d sure love to pray with you and help you make this connection with the One who loved you enough to trade places with you, becoming poor so you could become rich in Him! You are among friends today who want more than anything to see you join up with Jesus. You are in a safe place.
-If you want to say yes to doing life with Jesus, would you be willing to let me know by raising your hand? It would be my pleasure to talk with you and pray with you.
-Close in prayer
