Once upon a time, there was kindergarten teacher in Texas, who was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots. He asked for help, and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on. By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, “Teacher, they're on the wrong feet.” She looked, and sure enough, they were.
It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet. He then announced, “These aren't my boots.” She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, “Why didn't you say so?”
Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, “They're my brother's boots. My mom made me wear 'em.” Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry, but she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.
Helping him into his coat, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens?” He said, “I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.” (John Beukema, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; www.PreachingToday.com)
Life is like that at times. You push and pull to get things done, and it seems like everything is working against you, especially for the believer in Christ today.
Christians today are experiencing more and more persecution than ever before even in our own country. For the first time ever last year (2016), the Washington, D.C., based human rights group International Christian Concern, or ICC added the United States to their annual list of the world’s persecutors of Christians and countries that are regressing in religious freedom. They listed the United States, along with Mexico and Russia as “new and noteworthy” nations in their 2016 “Hall of Shame Report” (www.wnd.com/2017/01/u-s-on-list-of-christian-persecuting-nations/#UoSuglxYdBHAZAU5.99)
Think about it. In the last few years, Christians have been fined, fired, or otherwise censored for their faith right here in the United States of America. For example:
The mayor of Houston subpoenaed the sermons of five Protestant pastors to see if their preaching violated a new city ordinance related to discrimination against homosexuals.
InterVarsity, one of the largest Christian college organizations in the country, has lately been “derecognized,” or denied the privileges allowed to other student groups, on campuses in numerous states—this, for being what one writer dubbed “the wrong kind of Christian,” that is, those who believe traditional moral teaching.
A high school football coach was suspended in Washington State in 2015 for kneeling to say a prayer at the end of a game.
American military chaplains claim to have been reassigned because their faithfulness to traditional Christianity.
Small business owners working in the wedding industry have been heavily fined for refusing to take pictures or bake a cake celebrating same-sex ceremonies.
Then there is the Christian staffer at a day-care center who would not address a six-year-old boy as a girl. She was fired because of it.
A teacher was fired in New Jersey for giving a curious student a Bible.
Kenneth Howell, an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, was hired to teach a class in modern Catholic social thought. Yet he was suspended for teaching modern Catholic thought about natural law. The head of the religion department explained that his exposition of Church doctrine concerning homosexuality caused accusations of “hate speech.” …
A U.S. Marine in North Carolina was court-martialed, given a bad-conduct discharge, and denied military benefits because she pasted a motivational passage from Isaiah 54:17 near her office computer: “No weapons formed against me shall prosper”. According to a military judge, the quotation “could be interpreted as combative… [and] could easily be seen as contrary to good order and discipline.”
Scot McKnight says, “These disparate stories taken from recent headlines are examples of a toxic new force now hurtling across the United States and other advanced societies. They are part of the mounting toll of a widespread and growing effort to shame, punish, and ostracize people because of what they believe. This is moral and social change for the worse—and not only in the United States, but across the boundaries of what can still be called Western civilization. (Scot McKnight, “Are Christians in the USA Persecuted”, Patheos; www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/ 2017/03/23/christians-usa-persecuted)
So how are we Christians supposed to respond to such a culture? How do we live and behave in a society that is becoming increasingly hostile to our values? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to James 5, James 5, where James addresses how followers of Christ should respond when people are hostile to them.
James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. (ESV)
God says to the wealthy, wicked oppressor…
WEEP FOR YOUR MISERIES ARE COMING.
Howl for your sorrows will be great.
It may seem like evil people have the upper hand these days, but there is coming a day when they will wish they were never born.
Why? Because their riches will rot.
James 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. (ESV)
It is so certain that God puts it in the past tense like it has already happened. Their riches will most certainly rot!
Their gold will rust, and their ill-gotten gains will ruin them.
James 5:3-4 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (ESV)
The Lord of the armies of heaven will avenge those who have been cheated out of their wages.
James 5:5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (ESV)
Picture a feedlot where the cattle are in a state of bovine bliss. They’re being well-fed, wallowing in the lap of “luxury” for a time. To us, it stinks to high heaven. To them, they think they are in heaven, but you and I know they are only on their way to the slaughterhouse.
That’s what will happen to the wicked oppressor. He may think he is living in the lap of luxury, but God is only fattening him up for the slaughter. His riches will be his ruin in the end. Their riches will rot. Their gold will rust.
Their ill-gotten gains will ruin them, even as their love for money rouses them to evil. It incites them to injustice.
James 5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. (ESV)
Their interest in money makes them insensitive to murder. The Bible says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10).
According to Amnesty International, North Korea has a vast network of gulags that imprison over 200,000 people. The most feared camp is known as “Total Control Camp 14.” In Camp 14, hunger is so rampant that prisoners behave like “panicked animals” at mealtimes. Teachers at the camp school beat students to death for minor infractions. Medieval torture devices are employed in dungeon-like underground cells. And human relationships are so degraded that prisoners inform on family members.
The book Escape from Camp 14 tells the gripping story of Shin Dong-hyuk, the first known escapee from Camp 14. Shin was born in Camp 14, but at the age of 23 he escaped, finding his way to South Korea and eventually to the United States. Today, Shin lives in Seoul, South Korea, a nation that in many ways resembles the United States and other developed countries.
In a 2012 documentary, Shin reflected on the nature of true freedom and happiness. Towards the end of an interview Shin said:
When I lived in the labor camp, I had to suffer a lot of pain… But in South Korea you have to suffer when you don't have enough money. It's exhausting. It's all about money. That makes it tough for me here. When I think about it, I rarely saw someone committing suicide in the camp. Life was hard and you were an inmate your whole life. But in South Korea many people attempt suicide. They die. It may look like the people here don't want for anything. They have clothes and food. But there are more people committing suicide here than in the camp. There are news reports about that every day.
The interviewer asked, “What do you miss about the life in North Korea?” Shin got out his cell phone and started looking at it and tapping the screen before he said:
I miss the innocence and the lack of concerns I had. In the camp… I didn't have to think about the power of money like I do in South Korea. Though I don't miss everything from that camp… I don't know how else to say it: I miss my innocent heart. (Andrew Salmon, “Escape from Camp 14,” The Washington Post, 4-27-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
“I miss my innocent heart”, corrupted by the love of money.
Now, Shin Dong-hyuk is no wealthy, wicked oppressor, but I find it interesting that by his own admission, he finds the pursuit of money to have taken away his innocence. That’s the danger of wealth, my friends. When it becomes a primary pursuit, it leads people to compromise their morals and eventually to exploit others to get more.
A beggar asked a millionaire
“How many more dollars
Would it take to
Make you truly happy?”
The millionaire,
Reaching his gnarled hands
Into the beggar's cup, replied,
“Only one more!” (Calvin Miller, A Requiem for Love, Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 2; www.PreachingToday.com)
These are the people that James addresses here, and he doesn’t mince words when he tells them, “Weep for your miseries are coming.”
However, James’ primary audience is the one that the rich are exploiting. The persecuted believer is listening to what God is saying to the wealthy, wicked oppressor, and the believer is reminded that God will make everything right someday. The wicked seem to have the upper hand today, but there is coming a day when God will turn the tables and deal justly with the wicked.
In the meantime, what are we believers to do in the face of injustice? How are we to respond to those who hate and oppress us? Well, the simple answer is wait! Since the wealthy, wicked oppressor should weep because their miseries are coming, God says to the believer…
WAIT FOR YOUR MASTER IS COMING.
Be patient, because Jesus is coming soon! Patiently endure your pain, because the Judge is right at the door!
James 5:7-8 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (ESV)
The Greek word for “be patient” literally means to be long-tempered. So don’t lose your temper when you are unfairly treated. Don’t lose your cool. Don’t blow up in anger when people mistreat you. Just be patient, because Jesus is coming soon to make it right.
You don’t have to take matters into your own hands. Just put it into God’s hands, and He will deal with it in His time and in His way. Jesus is coming, so be patient.
Furthermore, don’t pick on each other. Don’t complain about one another.
James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (ESV)
When I was in school, there was a time or two when the teacher had to leave the classroom to run a brief errand. That was in the days before teacher’s aids, so the teacher would leave us with a stern warning: “Behave yourselves, because I’m coming right back.” One time, she returned and stood right outside the classroom door, listening to what was going on inside the classroom. No one knew she was there until she walked in and surprised us all.
That’s the picture we have here. Jesus has gone away to run an errand. In fact, He’s building your mansion right now in heaven (John 14:1-3). Even so, He’s not that far away. He’s standing at the door about to walk in.
I wonder. What will He see when he comes through that door? What does He hear right now among His followers? He knows they’re being persecuted and unfairly treated, but how are they treating one another?
You see, when the enemy picks on you, it’s too easy to pick on your friends and family members. When you can’t retaliate against the powerful, wicked oppressor, the temptation is to take it out on those closest to you. Please, don’t do that. In the midst of your pain, don’t complain; don’t grumble against one another.
Years ago, in the middle of a long train ride, the passengers were settling down at night to try and get some sleep. However, a man was holding a tiny baby at one end of the car; and as night came on, the baby grew more and more restless and began to cry. Nothing the man did would quiet the baby, who cried all the more.
Unable to take it any longer, a big burly man spoke for the rest of the group: “Why don’t you take that baby to its mother?”
There was a moment’s pause, and then the father answered, “I’m sorry; I’m doing my best. The baby’s mother is in her casket in the baggage car ahead.”
Again, there was an awful silence for a moment. Then the big man who asked the cruel question was out of his seat and moved toward the man with the motherless child. He apologized for his impatience and unkind remark. He took the tiny baby in his own arms and told the tired father to get some sleep. Then he patiently cared for the little child all through the night. (Bible Illustrator #2691, 8/1985.5)
That’s what Jesus wants to find when He comes through that door. He wants to find His people caring for each other especially in times of pain and persecution. So don’t lose your cool. Don’t complain.
And whatever you do, don’t quit. Don’t give up. Instead, remain steadfast in your work for the Lord.
James 5:10-11 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (ESV)
You see God’s compassion and mercy in Job’s life! If anyone was unjustly treated, it was Job. God declared him to be the most “blameless and upright man” on the earth (Job 1:8 & 2:3). Yet Satan asked for permission to attack Job; and in one day, Job lost it all: his livestock, his wealth, and even his children. Not long after that, he lost his health. Painful boils covered Job’s body from head to toe, and he sat on an ash heap scraping off the puss with broken pieces of pottery.
Job’s wife told him to “curse God and die,” but Job refused to do it. Instead, Job praised the Lord even though he couldn’t understand the injustice God had allowed in his life. Job had lots of questions, but he remained steadfast in his faith until God delivered him from the senseless evil and restored to him twice as much as he had before.
My dear friends, that’s your story if you put your trust in Christ. God has declared every believer “righteous” (Romans 5:1); but in this life, we suffer unjustly. However, there is coming a day when God will deliver us from this senseless evil, and that day is soon!
Jesus is coming soon, so don’t give up! Instead, remain steadfast in your faith and in your work for the Lord.
In his book When Life Is Hard, pastor James MacDonald shares a valuable lesson he learned during his days as a basketball player. He writes:
I played a lot of basketball back in the day. I sprained my ankles many times, and I learned too late that the best way to handle all that black-and-blue is to fill a wastebasket with ice and top it off with water. Then, while the injury is fresh, put your wounded foot deep into that cold water and leave it there.
If you can last for one minute, it's just crazy painful. But if you can keep it in there for two minutes, the injury and its recovery time will be cut in half… If you can hang on for two and a half minutes, you can be playing basketball again by Thursday, but the pain of holding your foot in that arctic water will have you crying out for someone to bring you a sharp object. Even with my worst injuries I seldom made it two and a half minutes.
But here is the amazing thing about “remaining under the pain” of having your foot in that cold bucket: If you can hang in there for three minutes, you'll be walking on it tomorrow. The pain will be consuming those last thirty seconds, worse by far than the injury itself now. But you will walk tomorrow.
MacDonald concludes: “It is just that way with trials. You can come to the place where the circumstance itself is less painful than the commitment not to give up.” (James MacDonald, When Life Is Hard, Moody, 2010, p. 63; www.PreachingToday.com)
But YOU WILL WALK TOMORROW! If you remain steadfast, God WILL deliver you from your senseless pain; and He WILL restore to you more than you ever had, just like He did for Job.
God says to the wealthy, wicked oppressor: Weep for your miseries are coming. But He says to you and me who have trusted His Son: Wait for your Master is coming. Don’t quit. Don’t complain, and don’t lose your cool, because Jesus is right at the door!
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ.
One glimpse of his dear face, all sorrow will erase.
So, bravely run the race till we see Christ. (Esther Kerr Rushthoi)
