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http://www.nec.org.au/index.php/listen-to-a-sermon-series/practical-faith/
Message
James 5:1-12
Being Patient
I’ve been very intrigued by the “Occupy Movement” who feel they have been hard done by. If you look at the statistics you might agree.
Wealth is unfairly distributed. In America 1% of the population owns 35% of the wealth. 80% of the population owns 15% of the wealth.
In Australia 60% of the population owns 18% of the wealth.
You can see why people get upset can’t you. It all seems so unfair – there is a basic inequality in this world. No wonder you get people walking around with signs 99%
But now let us get an even clearer picture that might really make you upset. In 2005 in our world
5.15 billion people lived on $10 a day or less.
1.31 billion people lived on $10 a day or more.
I don’t think there are many Americans, or Australians, or Europeans living on less than $10. The 99% actually have it very well considering the global picture. So much oppression.
And this is only one situation of oppression in the world. We can mention so many more:-
… on a global scale.
… on a national scale.
… on a local scale.
… on a personal scale.
As we think about these issues the question becomes, what do we do when we face oppression?
Let’s have a look at the answer James gives us.
James 5:1-12 (read)
What is the situation of oppression which James has in mind here?
Oppressive Rich Land Owners
Let’s understand that these land owners are not believers. They are not in the church. They have not submitted to the authority of God. Yet, because many of the early Christians were poor, the actions of the land owners were impacting the church members.
Here we have a man who is poor. He lives in a culture where paying workers on a day by day basis was the lawful and socially acceptable practise. Literally the money he earns today puts food on the table tomorrow – or even tonight. Day labourers in Palestine lived on the very verge of starvation all the time. It was impossible for him to save anything; and if the wage was withheld from him, even for a day, he and his family simply could not eat.
One day one of these wealthy landowner calls them over and says, "Work in my field all day and I will give you such-and-such a wage". It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. So all day under the hot sun this man laboured longing for the evening to come when he’d take his wage home to his wife and children and buy some food that they might live. But at the end of the day the landowner turned up with some of his bully boys and said he didn’t have the money right now, and "to come back tomorrow". The land owner goes home to his luxurious house with all the provisions he will ever need, the poor man goes home to with nothing to nothing.
It is oppression beyond description.
And notice the response of James to this situation.
Notice that nowhere in these first six verses do we find James call them to repentance, or encouraging them to change, or reasoning with them to think about their attitudes.
It is just judgement all the way.
Weep and wail … misery is coming.
You think that you have made your money just so that you can sit in your expensive homes and avoid the realities of life. You use your riches to be pampered and make your life so much easier than everyone else. You are happy and content and think you are in control. But you will not avoid the reality forever. You are going to discover a greater hardship – the hardship of God’s judgement.
Weep and wail … you are already destroyed.
You look at your money, clothes and gold and silver and you say, “I’m living the fine life”. But you see it is already lost. The wealth has rotted. The moths have come. The corrosion has set in. Your wealth has become a poison in your life.
Weep and wail indeed says James. And we look at a passage like this and we say, “Thank goodness we are not non-believing wealthy land-owners”. And it is true that we are not. But these words bring to us a powerful reminder.
There is a saying which says that “Money talks”.
I’ve heard money talk – when it comes our house it says, “Good bye”.
I suspect most of us can relate to that.
But we can also relate to the fact that money says a lot more than “Good bye”. In fact money has a very alluring quality – it is seductive and whispers sweet nothings into our ears. It can direct us, entice us and cause us to make bad decisions.
Money can also say things about us. Indeed the way we use our money says a significant amount about the sort of people we are – and the sort of people we want to be. It comes about because of the temptation of money. But at what cost?
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.
Matthew 6:19-21
Sometimes money and wealth can become our focus and our goal. We spend our lives seeking money. We acquire all the money we can. We store it up. We use it for ourselves. Instead of God being our security money is our security. It can become a trap of spiritual distraction. You don’t need to have a lot of wealth to fall into this trap – even a small amount of money can make you have this attitude.
The warning from James here is clear. Money talks … just make sure you don’t listen to it.
There are too many people who allow money to talk … and it creates many situations of oppression. We don’t want to be the cause of oppression do we?
Of course not … so let’s make sure we don’t.
Now that brings us to the next part of this passage … where we admit that we are people who do face oppression … and that oppression brings its own set of challenges.
James gets us to think about these challenges by confronting us with this question
How are we going to act when faced with oppression?
Look at the oppression faced by those in the days of James. You would think that, in the face of such terrible oppression, where justice has gone completely haywire that God would say, “Go out and fight against it”. But that is not the outcome is it. In fact James says something quite the opposite.
The Right Response To Oppression – Patiently Keep The End In Sight
James makes a judgement against the oppressors in verses 1-6, but he never calls for the church to go on a vendetta or to seek retaliation. Instead he says, “Be patient … until the Lord’s coming”. That’s a long time to be patient isn’t it? And if you didn’t know better it could be interpreted that James is saying, “When you face oppression just put up and shut up and wait for Jesus to come back”.
That is how it could be interpreted – but it isn’t what James wants us to do. We know this is the case because of the farming example that he uses.
The farmer sows the seeds when the season is right. If he plants before the autumn rains the ground is too hard. Once the crop has been planted the farmer must again wait for the spring rain. This rain encourages the crop to ripen so it can be harvested. The farmer has no control over these things. There is no point becoming disheartened and angry by the situation.
But does that mean he will sit around and do nothing while the crop grows? Of course not. He will pull out weeds. He will mend fences. He will drive away birds and rabbits. He will tend the fields. There are some things that he can do that will cause change. And there are some things that he cannot change no matter what he does.
When oppression comes we need to accept that we cannot change everything and trust in God’s judgement.
Basically we need to “wait well … not wait badly”.
Because it is easy to wait badly.
The Wrong Response To Oppression – Grumbling
Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door.
Have you notice how easy it is to get upset when we feel oppressed or in situations which make us feel vulnerable?
It becomes so easy to get upset at loved ones. We are worried and we are afraid. Instead of treating our loved ones with courtesy and love we snap at them and are short with them. We take our frustrations out on them and we make them the target of our hurt. It doesn’t help the situation … or us. But we still do it. We are not waiting well.
Or we might start looking at other people around us. People in society. We look at them and we think to ourselves, “Those people don’t really deserve to get ahead while I am struggling and being left behind”. We constantly see liars, cheats, thieves and gamblers having a life-style about which we can be slightly jealous. So often we see people who compromise biblical principles being blessed when, at the same time, we are just making it in life. We are not waiting well.
Why do we do it? Because we fall into the trap of thinking that we are good Christian people so God owes us.
We believe God works for the good of those who love Him.
And we believe God will not forget us even when we forget Him.
We believe in God’s care.
But there are times when that belief is tested. We feel like we are stumbling. We feel that no one is answering our cry in the wilderness. We do not wait well because we have forgotten the promises of Jesus.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. In my Father’s house are many rooms and I am going there to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to be with me.
John 14:1-3
No matter how we feel we always have a place with God – when the Lord comes back we will be there.
Don’t grumble, but wait well.
That is the focus of James and he adds to that focus.
The Right Response To Oppression – Patiently Take Each Day As It Comes
Again it almost sounds like James is saying, “Just put up with it all”, but that isn’t the case. The two examples James gives helps us see this.
In the past the Lord was with His prophets.
The prophets did not have an easy life.
Ezekiel 4:1, 4-6 (read with little comment)
Isaiah 20:2-4 (read with little comment)
Sometimes God will ask us to do some strange things.
In the past the Lord was with Job.
Job did not have an easy life. Imagine being Job.
Your family is killed. Everything you owned has been destroyed. Your health is failing. You are not dying but are in constant agony. Then your "friends" tell you that you are in your position because you are not right with God. You believe that God is in control, but cannot understand what he has done wrong.
Sometimes God puts us through difficult situations.
For what purpose? To understand the answer let’s imagine ourselves driving from Brisbane to Cairns. We have taken children on this trip, which makes it feel even longer because children have no perception of how long things take.
“Are we there yet?” No we’re only at Gympie.
“Are we there yet?” No this is Bundaberg.
“How much longer?” It is the same as watching the wiggles twenty times.
“Well how long is that?”
It can wear out your patience.
God also brings us on a journey – and we as His children are taught lessons along the way.
“Are we there yet?” No – you need to learn to trust My control more.
“Are we there yet?” No – you need to understand that life isn’t always smooth.
“Are we there yet?” No – you still don’t rely on My strength.
It’s all about patience … waiting well each and every day.
Are you willing to do that?
This is where verse 12 comes in.
Let your “yes” be “yes”
We have said … most of us at least … that we want to follow Jesus.
Are we going to follow … always … even when oppression comes?
You can’t just say “yes” to Jesus when it is easy and convenient.
We need to be saying “yes” every day.
And that means patiently living each day … waiting well, not badly.
Can you do that … can I?
Prayer
