OPEN: Have any of you seen the play or movie "Fiddler on the Roof" about Tevye, a Jewish man who was married and had 5 daughters. He worked in a small town as a milkman, and often dreamed about what it would be like if he were rich. And he sings a song, "If I were a rich man," in which he sings, or laments about what wealth would buy him. It would buy him a bigger house with it's luxuries and he wouldn't have to work so hard. He could spend more time in the synagogue praying and studying Torah if he didn't have to work so many hours. In fact I want us to look at a clip that shows Tevye singing a song I imagine we've all sung at one time or another.
How many of you have had days when it seemed as if the horse took the day off? We've all had that, haven't we? I'd imagine everyone of us have had days when we've dreamed Tevye's dream. "If I only were rich, If I only had more money... If only I didn't have to work..." If only... We dream that we would be so much happier if only we had more wealth. The problem with that of course is that when you get more - you still want more.
- Most people I know live with an abiding dissatisfaction with the amount of wealth they possess. Isn't that true? How many people do you know that say, "Yeah, I have all the money I need -- I don't need one dollar more." Do you know anybody that says that? We've all dreamed Tevye's dream, but in most cases, if you ask people want they really want they will say, "Just a little bit more." And when we get "just a little bit more" do you know what we want then? "Just a little bit more, please" Enough is never enough. This is a hard place to live. Life on earth is difficult. No matter how hard you work - a person who never really has enough. No matter how hard you work, "Man there has got to be to life to than this." Not just the area of finances -- but life over all.
This is a very important truth --
Our Life on Earth Will Constantly Be Filled With a Sense of Discomfort and Dissatisfaction.
God does not want you to be dissatisfied with life on earth as we have it. We are not to live for the pleasures we can enjoy in "the now" We live for the rewards of eternity. 2 Cor. 5:1-5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Does that sound like a person who is satisfied with what he is experiencing on the earth? He says, "While I'm on earth what I'm experiencing is driving me crazy. There is this constant groaning and there is this sense that something is missing. If as you were sitting here you suddenly discovered you were naked -- that would be pretty uncomfortable, right? Paul says, that's exactly what life on earth feels like. It feels like something is missing. I want to be clothed with my heavenly dwelling -- I want to be home. This is home to me -- this is something I just have to go through before I get to go home. I groan through this -- I'm burdened through this. And God designed a Christian's life to be that way. God doesn't want us to be satisfied with earth stuff. He wants us to find our satisfaction in Jesus Christ. Because He's eternal -- not the stuff on earth. Apart from him and his reign in your life -- there will be an abiding dissatisfaction in your life. There will be a sense of dis-ease -- that eventually turns itself into hopelessness. Now God doesn't want us to live with hopelessness. In fact, through Christ, He fills our heart with hope. But our hope - satisfaction - is not based on what this life offers, but rather on what we find in Christ.
What I'm saying is there is something wrong if you are satisfied on this planet. That's what Scripture teaches doesn't it? God wants us to live with a longing to move on -- we're not supposed to be satisfied with life on this planet. There should be a deep awareness that, "This isn't it. There is something missing." Don't you feel like that from time to time?
Now I know that it might not sound like it, but these are actually words of encouragement.
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 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. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that the kind of passage you would to start your day with? Doesn't it just fill your heart? Now I know that at first reading, this seems to be very, very harsh, right? But let me suggest that in reality it was meant to be a word of encouragement to the people who heard it. Who was James written to? If you go back to the beginning of the book and look, you'll be reminded that it was written to the 12 tribes scattered around the world. What's that mean? It's the Jewish believers that were located in Jerusalem but persecution comes -- they are scattered to the four couriers of the earth. When persecution comes -- they have no choice to leave everything and flee. So James is writing this letter to them. He's writing to people who have been persecuted by the rich. Talk about discomfort and dissatisfaction with life! These are the people who have been cheated and taken advantage of. They've lost their jobs, their homes, some of lost their family members. Nothing marvelous about their life on earth. He wants to give them a word of encouragement -- bring them back to a biblical perspective.
Be Encouraged as You Wait For the Lord's Return.
Look at what he says to them in verse seven- Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. What's he saying? Chill out -- get a grip on reality. This is not all there is. There's a better day coming. One day Jesus is coming back to take you home. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and talked to them about the return of Christ, he said Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:18) One day Jesus is going to make things right. He's talking to the victims of unjust oppression -- he's talking to people who have suffered in one way or another -- and he's saying to them -- Keep in mind one day Jesus is going to return and on that day he's going to put things back to the way they should be. All these people who have ripped you off and taken advantage of you and caused you pain You be patient --Why? Because the Lord's coming is near. And the idea here is not just the idea of imminence -- but what will happen after the imminent return. Don't get so wrapped up in defending yourself that you forget we are not living for the now. Don't feel that you have to fight for your rights -- Jesus is coming and he'll take care of those who have wronged you.
The Return of Christ is Going to Be Wonderful Comfort For Some But Terrible Misery For Others.
But James is also addressing the wealthy in this passage Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. To be honest -- what I think is that both groups were part of the setting. Scholars all have their own pinions on who James was writing to -- but I think they were both there. That makes sense, doesn't it? Why write a letter to people who wouldn't hear it? "So when he says, listen you rich people," I think he's looking right at them. Maybe on one side of the room he has all the wealthy people sitting together. And on all the other side of the room all the poor people sitting together. On one side of the room are the oppressors -- on the other side those who are being oppressed. One group really needs a word of encouragement -- the other group really needs to be chastised. He delivers comfort to one group by reminding them that one day Jesus is going to come for them. He reminds the other group about horrible impending judgment by saying one day Jesus is going to come for them. And what is going to be wonderful comfort for some is going to be terrible misery for others.
And he says some fairly harsh things to them. James wasn't a pastor that spent much time tickling a person's ears, was he? He tells them to weep and wail, howl, cry and moan. Why? Because the judge is standing at the door. The King is coming. And again, the idea here is not just the idea of imminence -- but what will happen after the imminent return. The King is going to balance out the scales. They thought they were getting away with something. They lived self-indulgent life -- they cheated others -- they took advantage of others -- and they thought no one could touch them.
James plunges headfirst into a topic we tend to want to handle with kid-gloves in the modern church. He puts his finger right on the topic that gets this huge recoil response out of people. He talks about their money. Everybody say, "Oh No!" "You aren't going to talk about money are you? Tell me it isn't so" Isn't that the we feel about money and churches? It's almost become a taboo topic in the modern church. (that might be why this is the one of the weakest areas in our walk with the Lord) But the bible has a great deal to say about money and Jesus certainly had a lot to say to about how a believer is to handle money.
How A Person Feels About And Handles Wealth Is A Test.
How you feel about money and possessions and material things is a test which reveals the spiritual state of your heart. Now if these people are in the church, they are there because of a profession of faith in Jesus. But even though they are professing Christ to others, their life is totally controlled and governed by the love of money. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:19-21) Isn't there an amazing similarity to what James says? You want to tell me where your heart is, show me where your treasure is. Where are you stockpiling your treasure? Where are you placing your wealth?
Jesus Said Money Is A Leadership Test.
Jesus said one of the tests of whether or not a person is fit to lead others in the church is the way they handle personal finances. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" (Luke 16:10-12) Now money is not the only test for leadership -- but it is a test -- an important test. If you can't be faithful with the money that you manage as a stewardship from God then why would God give you something of greater value -- his own children bought with the precious blood of His Son for you to shepherd or teach? Money? What's money? Money is fleeting -- it the small stuff -- it's not nearly as important as exercising spiritual influence over people's lives. The Lord uses how you manage finances as an assessment to test a person's readiness for leadership.
Now let me say that wealth in itself is not sinful. It's not sinful to possess money. Some of the godliest of people in the Bible were rich - Job, Abraham, David, Solomon, Philemon. It's not wrong to possess it, but obviously it's wrong to misuse it. If Jesus possesses our heart -- we will use our money the way Jesus says we are to use our money. What you do with wealth is measured and judged by the Lord.
Now there is probably one more question that needs to be addressed here: How do we define wealth? James says, "Listen here you rich people." So what's the thought that's kicking around in your head at that point? "He's talking to rich people and that's definitely not me." You looked at your neighbor and said, "Wake me up when he gets to the next point because I'm not in that category. I'm not rich." Who is rich? Our government says it's anybody who makes more than 250,000/year. Let me give you a simple working definition: anybody who has more that he needs -- he's rich. If you have what you need, you have no discretion with your money, you have to use it all to survive. But if you have any discretionary money, you're in the category of the rich. So who are the wealthy? Those people who have more than they need to live. But who are the wicked wealthy to whom James speaks? They are the ones who misuse and utterly abuse the stewardship of that discretionary money they have at their disposal.
Money Will Not Provide The Security You Thought It Would.
Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 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. Now James is talking in real time. In verse 1 he says, "your misery is coming" - future tense. In verses 2 &3 he speaks as if they were standing in the moment of judgment -- past tense. He's placing them in the actual moment of judgment -- moving them forward to the moment of judgment and then has them look back at how they handled money in their life. (this is a back-to-the -future kind of thing) It's as if he is saying, "Look at you now. Your wealth has rotted -- your clothes have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver are corroded. The word "corroded" is used for a putrefying sore and speaks of corrupting decay. It's sort of like the manna in the Old Testament, if you gathered more than what you need for just a day -- then what you gathered over what you needed corrupted. So he says all your hoarded treasure is rotted. And the picture here is what you thought was going to bring security didn't. What you thought was going to "keep you" didn't keep at all. You see the world says people are nothing more than "dust in the Wind" but the world has it wrong. People are not just dust in the wind -- but money is. Some people say, "Money talks." Well if money talks, all it ever says to me is goodbye." That's true -- at least in my life. And it's true ultimately in our lives. There's no real security in it. You can't keep it, it will rot. You can't stockpile it, it will decay. Hoarding is useless because in the end it's going to be no good to anybody. James' point is so basic. How sinful, how foolish, how stupid to hoard money, to hoard clothing, to hoard food when it all rots. And even if it remains, you won't.
Now the part of this verse I want you to note in particular is the last part of the verse. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. At a time when the coming of the Lord was thought to be imminent they accumulated more and more just for the sake of accumulating. Why do you think he says that? It's as if he is saying: Don't you realize the importance of the times in which you are living? We're living in the last days. You're hording your wealth with no regard for God's clock - no regard for redemptive history, no regard for eternity, totally wasting your life and all your resources. How bizarre. How utterly unthinkable, amassing wealth in a day when the world is perishing. What a betrayal to the Shepherd who became nothing -- even dying on the cross -- who sacrificed everything to provide his riches for us. "You're going to cling to the earth stuff -- to money -- in the light of the days in which we are living?? In light of the sacrifice that ushered us into the last days? In light of what hangs into the balance?" It's as if Jesus is saying, "Let me get this straight; I had a strategic plan to place you into a particular place during a particular time in redemptive history -- and part of my plan was to put into your hand the resources which would adequately equip you to fulfill my plan to reach others through you. And now after I've entrusted that stewardship into your hands you are going to squander on yourself?" The only acceptable way to live in the light of the Second Coming of Christ in these last days of redemptive history is to live holding very loosely the wealth that God gives you and to make sure you're using it for His glory. Corrie Ten Boom once said, "I have learned not to hold on to things in this life too tightly because it hurts when God pries my fingers loose from them."
I love farmers because they come to grips with basic reality of life - The ground replenishes our food every season. Apples grow every year. Corn grows every year. Tomatoes grow every year. Now it might grow in various amounts from year to year -- there might be storms that come from year to year or some other complicating issue. But spring time seems to roll around with amazing regularity each year and seed seems to sprout every year. You can count on God to make things grow. Now if you don't believe that -- you better not pick farming as a career choice. God wouldn't let the Israelites hoard manna -- because the lesson in that was He would be in tomorrow to provide for them. Every time I see a Christian hoarding against the future it's just a clear statement about what they really believe about the God providing their security.
The Love of Money Will Lead You Into Compromising Your Integrity
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
The pay or the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields...it speaks of day laborers. In the economy of Israel there were people who hung around the marketplace. Every morning they would go to the marketplace in their village and they would wait hoping that someone would come to hire a day laborer. They would work for whatever agreed upon wage they could get. Old Testament law was very strict on how you paid day laborers. You paid them at the end of every day because they needed the wages they earned that day to provide food for their family that day. Instead of being generous towards the poor, they defrauded the poor. Instead of being generous with the poor, they exploited them. Instead of giving to the poor, they withheld from them. Instead of giving them the small wage that they had earned, they kept it back. The ones who needed the money the most to feed their families were not paid. The wealth they had meant so much to the rich, they were not even willing to part with it to pay those who needed it. And their cries went up to God and reached His ears. In other words it was their cries which prompted God to action.
-- he explains that the very wealth that they got by ill means was a witness against them. The fact that they didn't pay people like they promised they would was testimony that stood against them. They hoarded their wealth, (because it was their bubble) they thought they were getting away with something. He tells them their wealth that they stored away stood as a witness against them. Their wealth was the hard evidence, exhibit A, God was going to use against them. The stuff you thought was your asset -- is now your liability. It isn't a person that's going to witness against them -- it's an inanimate object. Money that belonged to workers -- they kept. And they grew wealthy through it. It's as if there is a courtroom trail going on and Jesus is the prosecutor proving his case against them -- "You say you've surrendered? Well, let's look at Exhibit A. I'd like to submit into evidence the defendants check book." He turns to the jury, "Ladies and Gentlemen I'd like you notice the number at the bottom on the ledger. Now let's explore how that number got to be what it is. It a little compromise here -- a little coloring of the books there. Here are some wages the defendant didn't pay. Oh, look over here -- here are some numbers that were changed a little so the defendant could get back a little more tax money. Here's a promissory note that was never paid. Here's a loan that was defaulted. Here's fraud. Here's people whom the defendant has taken advantage of." Notice it says the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. God pays attention to people who have been defrauded -- whether they are Christian or not. He is a God of justice and His hand will move against people who defraud others. He is a God of compassion and he will identify with those who have been treated unfairly. Whether you defraud your government or the person who loaned you 20 bucks -- don't think he doesn't notice.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10)
When the love of money controls you it can lead into all kinds of evil. Ultimately it leads into judgment by God.
The Love of Money Fans The Flame of Self-Indulgence
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You live on earth in luxury and self-indulgence (means delicately or softly) you had a delicate life-style. Life is all about being a consumer. Life is all about a bigger castle and more luxurious chariot -- longer vacations in far away places. Listen, God doesn't necessarily want you to sit on a soap box and sleep on a straw mat. But neither our we to view the goal of life as getting as much as I can so I can indulge myself as much as I can either.
You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. He really calls them a bunch of cows. Getting all fattened up for the day of slaughter. He says, "You guys are like a bunch of cows who say, 'Wow I got all this food in front of me -- this is so cool. I'm really blessed to have to much for myself to eat.'" So they eat and eat and eat. And James is saying, "Don't you understand? -- it's a trick -- it's a trap. You think you got away with it? Do you know what these people are missing? Self-denial. It's not that they can't restrain themselves -- the issue is they don't want to restrain themselves. Life is all about gratifying self.
The Love of Money Will Lead You Into Doing Things You Never Thought Possible
You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. One compromise always leads to another and another and another. Until you begin rationalizing to yourself, "I have no choice except to make this decision." You're so focused on protecting what you call your assets that you rationalize cheating and stealing. Again, if my thesis is correct -- the people who have been murdered, these people who have been unjustly condemned -- are who? Innocent people. Brothers and sisters in Christ. That makes it even worse doesn't it?
Close: We all have a choice: We can spend our life longing for worldly wealth. or We can recognize the greatest treasure any person can possess is a relationship with Jesus Christ. If God has given you earthly treasure, use your earthly treasure for the exaltation of Christ.
