Money Matters
James 5:1-6
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882 in New York City in accordance with the Central Labor Union. In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow their example.
Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. Municipal ordinances were passed, state bills and finally Congress passed a bill on June 28th, 1894, making Labor Day an official holiday on the first Monday in September.
Anyone who works likes a holiday. We even celebrate Labor Day by calling it the last official weekend of summer. Many travel and spend time with their families over this long weekend.
In our text James speaks about money. Let’s be honest we work because we have to make money. We sing like the seven dwarfs Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to work we go. Or like the famous bumper sticker, I Owe, I Owe, so off to work I go.
But here in God’s Word it’s not talking about making more money, or paying off debt, the Bible is speaking to our attitude about money. James says here that how we treat people, fellow workers, and our leisure time, speaks volumes of our character. In other words Money Matters.
Some have the attitude of extravagance. Some have the live within their means attitude. Others have money but live like there are broke:
John G. Wendel and his sisters received a huge inheritance from their parents. They spent very little of it and did all they could to keep their wealth for themselves.
John was able to influence five of his six sisters to never marry, and they lived in the same house in New York City for over 50 years. When the last sister died in 1931, her estate was valued at more than 100 million dollars. Yet, her only dress was one that she made herself, and wore for over 25 years.
Again we see that James is the most practical book in the Bible. What He is preaching about in our text is the Lord is the Lord. It’s a continuation of chapter 4 and what we are to see is that Jesus is the Lord of everything including Money Matters. The problem wasn’t that wealthy people were sinful. The problem was God was blessing His people and God’s people were hoarding the money God blessed them with.
We must see today that our attitude about money must come from a proper biblical perspective about who is the Lord of our lives. When it comes to Money Matters, who is the Master of our Money?
Let’s examine today the three Warnings James gives us on Money Matters.
I. The Prophecy of Money (v.1-3) Here we see that Money Talks. It speaks volumes about people and what their attitude is about money. The Bible teaches us that we are stewards of what God has entrusted to us. In Psalm 62:10, the Bible says, “if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” (NKJ) That is if God entrusts us with more we should never take our focus of what the Lord wants and put it on our wealth. Here James warns us of what God will do if we put our trust in our bank accounts and not on Him. Notice first of all:
A. Future Warning (v.1) This warning is to the Christian men of chapter four who pushed God aside and placed material possessions on the throne as and idol. This idolatry will turn into a judgment a misery that is coming upon them. It might mean that they throw away their families or lose God’s blessing and because of their idolatry they need to wake up to what is coming.
1. Attention (v.1a) “Come now,” it means look here, pay close attention to what you are sacrificing and what you are losing. Why? God wants them to understand that we must:
a) Pay attention to how the wealth was gained
b) Pay attention to how the wealth was used.
These businessmen had a business plan in chapter 4 verse 13-14 and remember that plan didn’t include God. It is when we try to arrange our future and predict our profit without any regard to the one who knows the future that we are heading for disaster.
2. Admonition (v.1b) “weep and howl” this indicates the lamenting and grief that awaits someone when disregard God’s plan for their lives. Weep is the same word used to describe Peter’s repentance following His denial of Christ.
Miseries refer to hardships that will come upon us as God disciplines His children. Let’s remember that faithful stewardship, tithing and giving to the work of the Lord is not a plea from the church to get money. God is not raising money He’s raising people to do His work and faithful stewardship builds people.
B. Futile Worth (v.2-3) there were three kinds of wealth in Bible times and they are all mentioned here in v.2-3, gold, grain and garments. The more gold a person had the more wealth they had. The more grain they had the more wealth they had. The more clothes they had the more wealth they had. Not much has changed has it?
However the futility of wealth in these verses is that a person hoards it rather than letting God use it. Notice two truths about hoarding wealth:
1. It Testifies (v.3a) “witness against you.” The hoarding of wealth bears witness of the selfishness of the heart. What happens when we do not allow God to use what He has given us? It will stand as evidence against us. God never intended for anything He gave us to be wasted either by misuse, abuse or lack of use. Everything He gives He intended that it be used.
The Bible says in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (NKJ) God meant that we give our all for His kingdom, die to self and let Him be Lord over everything He gave us.
2. It is a Tragedy (v.3b) “you have heaped up treasure in the last days.” Here we see a direct violation of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (NKJ)
The tragedy is missed opportunities. We have a limited opportunity to get the Gospel out. However, if we fail to use our resources here on earth what good will that do for eternity. If a person is stingy and fails to give for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom then we have failed to reach as many as we can with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I. The Prophecy of Money
II. The Proceeds of Money (v.4) here we see the second warning of laying up treasures here on earth. The Christian businessmen were cheating their employees by failing to pay them a proper wage and failing to share in the proceeds of their business.
Throughout God’s Word the Bible condemns the owner that fails to pay a fair wage to the employee. Deut. 24:14-15, Lev. 19:13, Proverbs 3:27-28, Jeremiah 22:13, Malachi 3:5. Jesus said a laborer is worthy of his hire in Luke 10:7 and in 1 Timothy 5:18 the Bible tells us the worker is worthy of His reward. But notice when a Christian businessman fails to heed God’s Word:
A. The Cry of Fraud (v.4a) we see the owner failed to pay what was really do. He “kept back,” what was really owed. It has the idea of the business loving its bottom line while the worker failed to make a decent living. What a black eye for a Christian to cheat their workers and call it good business.
B. The Cry to the Father (v.4b) God knows what is really going on. Their cry has reached the Lord of the Sabbath. The Lord of hosts this is the name of Almighty God speaks of His omnipotence. He’s all powerful and He can raise one business up and take another one down.
Application: Let’s look back at **4:17** I believe it is my responsibility to pay my staff well. If I fail to do that I disobey God. I believe a Christian business should pay their employees well. I also believe that God’s people should tip well when we go out to eat. I believe in a 20% tip. Because Jesus has been so generous to us how can we not do that for others? I’ll move on!
**V.5-6**
I. The Prophecy of Money
II. The Proceeds of Money
III. The Pleasure of Money (v.5-6) Now James reminds the church that they have seen the blessings of God in their finances and they have lived in pleasure and luxury but God’s work and their workers have suffered. The third warning is God has judged the attitude of a greedy Christian.
As I said earlier God never intended for His blessings to be misused. He blesses in the area of finances so we might turn around and be a blessing to others. Money is designed for pleasure and for us to enjoy here on earth. However, we must find what God’s plan is for the money He has given us. So let’s:
Find God’s Plan: I want to share with you 6 practical principles I found in finding the plan of God in our finances:
A. Ask God First—first of all we must seek God’s will. That always starts with obedience. God has out lined in Scripture that 10% of what He has given us comes back to Him to further His work.
But also understand that Asking God First means we seek Him when we make purchases that are wants instead of needs. I need to buy groceries every week I don’t need to pray about that. But when I am purchasing something that is a want I must seek God.
B. Have a Clear Conscience—A Christian must have a clear conscience regarding past business dealings or if we have harmed someone else by failing to give them what we owe. Jesus said in Matthew 5:24, that before we give we should first be reconciled to our brother.
If we are going to find God’s plan we must deal with our conscience. That includes any and every financial situation that might be left unresolved with another brother or sister in Christ.
C. Put Others First—A Christian that wants freedom in finances must be willing to put others first. Simply put we sacrifice in order to help others and that we don’t profit at the disadvantage of others. Again this is a question of attitude. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (NKJ)
D. Spend Time Wisely—As a Christian we must limit our time devoted to making money. If we spend all of our time focused on how much money we have and how we can make more then something or someone else is being neglected. Too many people have sacrificed their marriage or children for money.
We should be good workers, and stewards of our time at work. But, we must never place our work in front of our relationship with God or our relationships God has given us.
E. Avoid Indulgence—Every Christian must be careful to live within their means. The reason some are not blessed is because they have tried to accumulate stuff here on earth rather than laying treasures in heaven. Many today see something they like and they have to have it. If that attitude is never questioned they are headed for financial bondage.
F. Seek Godly Advice—everyone needs someone. I believe all financial decisions as a married couple, I’ll add engaged, should be made together. God makes two become one so both need to be involved.
We should also seek out Godly men or women who have been down that road before. God puts those kinds of people in our lives so why not seek His counsel through them.
If we practice these principals then we can really enjoy the money God has blessed us with.
Conclusion: This again is a question of Christ being Lord and trusting Him in faith to take care of us. This might mean we have to take a stand against something or someone in order to obey His Word.
In 1985 Chuck Colson was on the Bill Buckley Television program. He was talking about the criminal justice system. A few days after the show Chuck Colson got a phone call from Jack Eckerd the founder of Eckerd Drug stores. Mr. Eckerd invited Chuck Colson to Florida to discuss the criminal justice system here in our state.
Meanwhile the pornography commission has meeting and discussing the link between pornography and crime.
Mr. Eckerd took church Colson all over Florida to speak to businessmen about the criminal justice system. This is how he would introduce Chuck Colson. “This is Chuck Colson, I met him on bill Buckley’s TV program, He’s born again, I’m not. I wish I were.” Then Mr. Eckerd would sit down.
A year went by and Chuck Colson kept witnessing to Jack Eckerd. Finally Mr. Eckerd became a believer in Jesus Christ. Mr. Eckerd called his president and said, “Take Playboy and Penthouse out of my stores.” The president said, “You can’t mean that, we make 3 million dollars a year off of those magazines.” Mr. Eckerd said, “Take them out.”
Mr. Eckerd then wrote letters to his competitors, Peoples drug store, Dart drugs and Revco asking them to also remove them from their shelves. The 7-11 Chairman sat on Eckerd’s board of directors and Mr. Eckerd convinced him to remove pornography from the then 5,000 stores. All in all over 11,000 retail stores removed them from their shelves.
Guess what God did? More and more people came to Eckerd Drug stores and God replaced that 3 million a year business. My point? If God can handle millions and billions don’t you think He will honor our faithfulness as we submit to His Lordship in Money Matters? He will. Will you trust Him to take care of all your needs? Will you heed the warnings outlined here in James? Trust Him and He will take care of you.
PRAY
