MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK SERIES
"You Rich People"
JAMES 5:1-8
#JAMESatCCC
INTRODUCTION…elitedaily.com/life/make-rich-other-money/991468
I was doing some reading and came across an interesting article about wealth and feeling rich. The author’s name is Paul Hudson. I couldn’t nail down exactly what he does for a living, but I thought his article was thought provoking. Here is what he said:
“I love money — like a lot. To an extent, it makes life easier. It allows for luxury and higher comfort. It relieves many worries and can also lead to many unique experiences. Most appealingly, it gives you power. It gives you the power to do good things on a very large scale. At the same time, money can prove just the opposite. It can prove to make life much more complicated. It can make a wasteful and overly lavish lifestyle too attainable. The power money gives us can be, and most often is, used for evil things. Money alone is not enough to make you happy, to make you feel rich the only way it matters to be rich. Money is only a means to an end — it’s the end that really matters.”
He goes on to list 8 things in life that cannot be bought that make a person feel rich: (list adapted)
1. Having friends who never fail to support you. Fill your life with people who love you, with friends who will walk through life with you, and you’ll never be poor.
2. Having a family who loves you and knows how to show it. Love your children in a way they actually feel loved, and your whole family will be rich beyond imagination.
3. Having wisdom. Wisdom is not intellect alone, nor is it simply logical thinking. Wisdom is those two things combined with experience — life-information, if you will.
4. Seeing the world. You can have all the money in the world and never actually experience the world. Seeing the world — really seeing it — is incredibly inexpensive.
5. Falling in love. Love is the only currency in the world that is both invaluable and abundant.
6. Pursuing your passions. Some of the wealthiest individuals are, in reality, by far the poorest. You can be the wealthiest person in the world and still manage to hate every second of your life. The only way to live a happy life is to live one pursuing your passions. If you live a life void of passion, then you will never feel like you are living the life you were meant to live. Just keep in mind being happy every hour of every day is not possible.
7. Cherishing memories that make you smile -- and those that make you cry. If you can look back at your life and say you maximized every moment, you squeezed the life out of every opportunity, then you are richer than you know.
8. Having someone to share your life with. Life is meaningless without people to share it with. Friends and family are what make your life worth living.
Honestly… take all my money and give me that instead.
I found his article thought provoking because when I use the word “rich,” I do not mean any of those things, but rather I mean the accumulation of wealth. I mean having a lot of money. When I think of rich I think of a new car every year, a large new house with a pool, clothes with certain brand names, excess money in the bank to do what you want after bills are paid… things like that. I think of “rich” as the ability to give to a cause when I want and how much I want.
ILLUSTRATION… I felt rich when I purchased my second car (p)
I remember a specific time when I felt rich. I purchased a 1987 Ford Taurus in 1996 that was used. It was brown which is my favorite color. I spent all my summer earnings on the car and should have just kept my money. The car broke down the week after I bought it on my way back to college and I had to put a new thermostat in it. It constantly had a leak in the power steering. I put 3 alternators in it. It was always costing me money. A year or so later, my grandmother had friends whose son was drafted into the NFL and he bought them a new car. I bought their car old in 1997. It was a very nice 1990 Honda Civic. The interior was clean and perfect. The best thing about it… it was also brown. That car never once broke down on me. I felt rich every time I got in that car because it was a nice car that ran perfectly.
In a moment, we will read from James 5 and James uses the word “rich” in the same way we normally think about it. He means (Greek: ‘plousios’) “wealthy and abounding in material resources.” He means people who have a bunch of money or land or flocks and herds. In the passage we will read, addressed to “you rich people,” he frames wealth in its proper place in our Christian life. We can learn from what he says even if we do not consider ourselves rich. James lays out some good teaching on truths about money for our walk with Christ.
READ JAMES 5:1-8
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 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. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. 7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
I. TRUTH ONE: STUFF WE BUY WITH MONEY FADES
James echoes the words of Jesus when it comes to wealth.
In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus says clearly, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus Christ tells us that the stuff we buy with money that makes us feel rich fades. James tells us that the stuff we buy with money that makes us feel rich fades. Being rich fades. James uses words like “rotted,” “moths have eaten,” “corroded” and “corrosion,” and “eat like fire.” The end result of all those words is ruin. The things we buy eventually all come to ruin.
A serious truth about money and wealth in the Christian faith is that you and I as believers are to invest our money not in earthly treasures, but in heavenly bound treasures. James is talking to people who have wealth who are miserable. One of the reasons they are miserable is because they have hoarded their wealth and the wealth is eaten up and corroded. It has wasted away and not lasted. The piles and piles around them used to be shiny, but now are not.
So, what are we supposed to do? There are 3 heavenly treasures we can invest in and I think they are all interrelated…
ILLUSTRATION… christiantoday.com/article/3-heavenly-treasures-we-should-start-investing-in-today/92376.htm
#1 Heart. We should get a hint from what Jesus says when He ties treasure and heart together: God wants us to value and nurture the heart because it's more valuable than money. How's your heart today? If it's not in a good place, that's what God wants you to focus on. Selfishness, hurt, anger, or hunger needs to be answered by Christ's satisfaction and His presence in our lives. Invest in your heart and in the hearts of people around you helping for Christ to satisfy needs.
#2 People. What's one thing we know for sure Heaven will be full of? I'm one hundred percent certain that Heaven will be full of people. That's what we want, don't we? We evangelize and spread the gospel because, just like Jesus, we want as many people in Heaven as possible. We need to invest in the people around us.
#3 God's Presence. Heaven will surely be overflowing and teeming with the presence of God. As we worship God and experience His presence, we start knowing this wonderful Jesus whom we will spend the rest of eternity with. May we invest in our spiritual life and the spiritual lives of the people around us.
II. TRUTH TWO: MONEY CAN MAKE US SELFISH
James echoes the words of the Apostle Paul when it comes to wealth.
The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 says clearly, “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 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.”
Paul tells us that the love of money and the eagerness for wealth leads us to all kinds of evil and leads to many kinds of griefs. James says the same and uses words like “hoarded,” “luxury,” “self-indulgence,” and “fattened” to describe more possible end results of wealth. In James’ mind, a harmful desire or a grief that may come upon a person because of wealth is an exaggerated sense of self.
* We can end up self-confident when we should be God-confident.
* Self-reliance may become a way of life instead of God-reliance.
* We may be self-indulgent when we should have self-control.
* Self-absorbed might be a word to describe us instead of absorbed in the Word of God.
* We can be self-seeking instead of seeking out God.
* We may want to self-heal our emotions instead of looking to Christ to heal our hearts.
* Self-gratification may be a way of life instead of finding joy and happiness in Christ.
The list of “self” words go on and on and fight against the commands of God in His Word to be selfless and other-people-centered. Money and wealth can make you think you are the most important person in your life. It is a danger. It makes us think we need more and more in order to self-satisfy and enjoy life.
ILLUSTRATION… ministry127.com/resources/illustration/wealth-does-not-bring-happiness
The story is told of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.
“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.
“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.
“‘What would I do with them?”
“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”
The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”
“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.
“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.
III. TRUTH THREE: MONEY CAN CAUSE UNFAIRNESS
James echoes the words of King Solomon from the Book of Proverbs.
Solomon says in Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 23:4, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.” Proverbs 28:6, “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse.” Basically, Solomon says that being rich isn’t all it’s cracked up to be because there are dangers that come with it and temptations that come with it.
James points out several things to those he calls “you rich people.” He says they failed to pay wages to people who worked for them. So the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. He also says that because of their wealth they condemned and murdered innocent men… assumingly to guard their wealth. Wealth brought unfairness to the lives of people connected with these wealthy folks.
Unfairness is the opposite of the kind of person God wants us to be. He wants us to be like Him and showed us how to live through His Son Jesus Christ. We are to be the the opposite of unfair no matter how much money we have or don’t have. We are to be fair-minded, just, civil, equitable, generous, honorable, reasonable, and trustworthy. If Jesus played a sport, I would imagine Him being sportsmanlike as well! All of those are the opposite of the example-setting by the rich people in this passage.
ILLUSTRATION… https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/18/us/college-admissions-scandal/index.html
https://www.insider.com/college-admissions-scandal-full-list-people-sentenced-2019-9
Even our world knows that money shouldn’t be allowed to make things unfair. The world knows it, but doesn’t always act like it. Do you know how I know this to be true? Think about the news recently and take note of the College Admissions Scandal. Actors, lawyers, wine makers, and CEOs were paying to have their children accepted into schools they could not get into and are now facing fines and jail time. A real estate developer paid $75,000 to inflate his daughters ACT scores was sentenced to one month in prison. Stanford Sailing coach John Vandermoer accepted $610,000 in bribes to facilitate the admissions of students to Stanford.
Why is this happening? It happened because people thought their money made them exempt from the rules. It happened because there is often a temptation to have money make things fair. It is happening because somewhere someone realize wealth should not pave the way for things to be unfair. Every so often our world has a conscience and gets things right.
TRANSITION
As I was thinking about this passage and praying, I realize that the first three truths are sort of negative. Wealth fades away so don’t make it the center of your life. Wealth can breed selfishness. Wealth can lead to unfairness. Negative, negative, negative. Then I remembered verses 7-8! Let’s re-read those two verses and remind ourselves of James’s words.
READ JAMES 5:7-8
7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
I cannot help but notice that in verse 7 James says, “be patient,” “wait,” and “patient.” In verse 8 he says “be patient.” Four times in 2 verses James mentions patiently waiting after he has just chastised people who have wealth and are misusing it. This leads us to the truth that when it comes to money and wealth and spending and material desires, we should patiently wait for God’s provision.
IV. TRUTH FOUR: PATIENTLY WAIT FOR GOD’S PROVISION
James echoes the words of the Prophet Jeremiah from the book of Lamentations.
Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:21-25, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him." 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him;”
The Lord has great love for us and He provides for us in His compassion.
The Lord is compassionate each day and provides for us in His faithfulness.
The Lord is good to those who hope and seek Him.
We live in a hurry-up buy-now-pay-later world. We live in a world where instant gratification is the norm. We don’t enjoy waiting in line or being at stop lights or yielding in traffic when the sign says to. We don’t want to waste time shopping… so with two clicks someone else does it for us. Patiently waiting is not usually our thing. Waiting on God is also difficult when we think we have to buy something now or have something now or need something.
James tells us to wait for God’s provision in our lives. God gives us a portion and I think James is saying to us… take note of what God gives you and be thankful. James is saying God knows our need and like the farmer who waits for rains… He will bless us when we need it. Praise Him for the blessings we have! Praise Him for the provision of houses and jobs and cars and clothing… knowing that it all comes from His compassion that never fails! As believers, we have stated that Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Lord. We have no choice as believers of Jesus to let Him take charge because He is our Lord. That also means that we allow God to provide for us because He is our Lord. I believe we discover God and His will and His provision when we wait on God.
James sees that patiently waiting on the Lord for His provision is the opposite of wealth being at the center of our lives and wealth breeding selfishness and wealth leading to unfairness.
ILLUSTRATION… https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/four-truths-about-gods-provision
Pastor John Piper says, “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, but you may be aware of three of them.” God is always working in our lives, we just need to have patience and prayerfulness to see Him. He provides for us more than we know.
A Christian has God at the center of our lives and not wealth.
A Christian first seeks God’s opinion about what to do with money and possessions.
A Christian waits upon the Lord for His provision and blessings when it comes to needs.
ILLUSTRATION… PRAYER IF YOU ARE WAITING ON PROVISION; crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-daily-prayer/a-prayer-for-god-s-provision-in-times-of-need-your-daily-prayer-january-31-2017.html
[pray for the congregation, have them come up or stay in seats]
Our Heavenly Father:
We thank you that no situation is too far out of Your control to provide. For You are Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides. We thank You that You own it all, and hold everything in Your hands. We thank You that You know our needs before we even ask, before we even come to You. You’re aware of all that concerns us, and You have a plan. You hold the provision; You have the solution. You alone can move mountains to make a way for Your children. We ask for Your answer, in Your timing, in Your plan, to be given for every need that weighs our hearts down. Forgive us for doubting You, for worrying, and for trying so hard to work everything out on our own. Help us to trust You more, help us in our unbelief. We choose to recognize and to believe that You are Able to accomplish far more, to do far greater, than we even thought possible. We thank you in advance for Your miracles, for paving out pathways, for Your provision for those who love you. Thank you for the abundance of blessing and goodness You have already stored up. We trust You this day, and every day, and are so grateful for Your Power and joy that fills our lives. Thank You for teaching us to be content in all circumstances, we love You Lord, we’re leaning on You.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
GOSPEL PRESENTATION
We have been talking about wealth and money this morning. We have read over James’ words helping us to guard our hearts and actions when wealth is in the mix. This is all good. The Bible speaks on wealth and money because you and I deal with it and we all have the temptation to make money and the pursuit of money our goal.
Those of you who do not have Jesus as your Lord and Savior… please understand that having Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior makes us quite rich, but not with money or possessions.
* We are given grace and mercy which pays for our debt of sin… that makes us rich in forgiveness.
* We are given the gift of the Holy Spirit which makes us rich with the presence of the Lord.
I don’t want to sound hokey or like I am twisting the meanings of words, but people without Christ are spiritually poor and lost. Are you poor and lost? Accepting Jesus enriches our spirits with His own and with the forgiveness that comes from His death, burial, and resurrection.
PRAYER
