Money Can’t Buy Happiness!
Squid Game Part 1
James 5:1-6
Steve Meenho Kang
www.evergreencommunity.org
Today, we are starting a new message series, “Squid Game.”
The Netflix drama “Squid Game” became the number one show on Netflix in all 83 countries where Netflix streams.
But why is this drama so popular all over the world?
One of the reasons is that it reflects the sentiments of the present age.
It created a consensus among many people.
People in the world are going through many difficulties.
Especially, because of the COVID-19 crisis, people all over the world are experiencing many difficulties.
And this drama reflected how many are feeling nowadays.
All of the main characters in this drama were experiencing financial hardship.
The main character, Seong Ki-hoon, was forced into ‘early retirement’ 10 years ago.
He started a fried chicken business and a snack shop and went bankrupt.
He does not have a decent job.
And when he has some money, he blows his money away in horse racing.
His friend Jo Sang-woo is the pride of the neighborhood.
After graduating from Seoul National University, he got a job in an investment firm and succeeded.
But he got into financial trouble because he took a big loss due to a bad investment.
There is another character who was scammed by a North Korean defector broker.
Also, there is a man who stole money from his gangster boss.
“Squid Game” is a story about a survival game in which 456 participants are all in desperate financial situations.
They risk their lives for a prize of 45.6 billion won, which is about 40 million dollars.
The participants of this game will play 6 games in total.
And the final winner will receive a cash prize of 40 million dollars, but the losers will lose their lives.
Some of us may not have seen this show because it has very brutal, violent, and sexually explicit scenes.
However, many people around the world have watched this drama with much interest.
One of the reasons for its popularity is that people can understand the economic dire situation these participants faced.
But imagine for a while with me.
What would James, the brother of Jesus, say if he saw this drama?
Obviously, there were no TVs 2000 years ago.
But if he were to watch this drama, he might be sad, frustrated, and even angry.
He would be so sad to see people living in such dire financial situations.
He would be frustrated to see people have such a wrong idea about money.
He would be so angry that people value money over other people.
Therefore, if James ever saw “Squid Game,” this would be his response based on what he wrote in the Book of James.
I. We must not hoard what we have (vv. 1-3).
Verses 1-3 say this.
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on 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.
James declared the fact of the coming judgment of God.
God will judge everyone according to how they lived.
And He will judge the rich for how they used their wealth.
James warned against people who think that money can make them happy.
He commanded the rich to “weep and wail.”
In other words, he commanded the rich to repent.
Why?
It was not simply because they are wealthy.
Rather it was because of how they became wealthy, what they are doing with their wealth, and what they are not doing with their wealth.
Because of their misuse of their wealth, God will send judgment upon them.
God never condemned making money, saving money, and even spending money.
But He condemned the people who misuse their money.
The first misuse of money was hoarding wealth.
They had so much wealth stored up that their wealth was rotted, their clothes were moth eaten, and their gold and silver were corroded.
Their crime was uncontrolled greed.
They had far more than they could ever use, while others do not have enough.
James’ statement that the rich had “hoarded wealth in the last days” shows that he had the future judgment in mind.
It was even in the last hour that they “hoarded wealth.”
But what caused these people to hoard their wealth?
The rich stored up their wealth because they thought they could rely on their wealth for security and happiness.
They were storing up their wealth because they trusted their money rather than God.
In the drama “Squid Game,” basically all of people got into financial troubles because of their greed.
They had money but they wanted more money, so they tried to earn money in unethical ways, and they lost all their money.
They also believed that money would bring happiness.
They believed that if they just won the money, then all of their problems would disappear.
This is why they risked their lives to win the prize money.
Therefore, this is what we must realize.
Money does not bring happiness.
Money does not provide good health.
Money does not guarantee safety.
But there is one thing that hoarding money will bring.
That is God’s judgment.
Of course, it does not mean that we do not need money.
It does not mean that having money is evil.
Just as money does not bring happiness, poverty does not bring happiness either.
We need money to live in this world, spread the gospel in the world, and love others in the world.
We need money to do all these.
But we must never think that more is better when it comes to money.
The fact that we need money does not mean that we should hoard money.
Greed can bring God’s judgement.
When it comes to money, more is not always better.
Having money is fine and good.
Nothing is wrong with being wealthy.
But we must learn to use our wealth well.
We must not hoard our wealth.
II. We must gain our wealth honestly (vv. 4, 6).
Verse 4 says this.
4 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 second crime the rich are charged with is this.
They failed to pay the workers who harvested their crops.
They hired workers to work on their land.
They promised to pay them a specific amount.
But when the workers finished their work, they did not pay the workers who worked for them.
The workers complained about their treatment.
Their complaints “reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.”
God heard their cries as He always hears the voice of the suffering.
This was a serious crime.
During that time, the day workers in Palestine lived on the very verge of starvation.
Their wages were small.
It was impossible for them to save anything.
If the wages were withheld from them, even for a day, they and their families simply could not eat.
It was a serious crime to not pay their wages.
And God will vindicate them in due time.
But that was not all.
Verse 6 says this.
6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
The third crime of the wicked rich was this.
They had “murdered the innocent one.”
They were guilty of attacking people who were defenseless in order to accumulate their wealth.
They accumulated their wealth immorally.
In “Squid Game,” the organizers of the game visited those who were suffering financially.
They showed them a taste of money.
They lured them to become participants of the game.
The participants took part in the game in the hopes that they can become the ultimate winner.
They believed that the prize money could save them from their hellish lives.
In the drama, there is a Christian guy who came to participate in the game.
He justified what he was doing and prayed to God that He would help him to win the game and get the money.
Obviously, that should not be the attitude of a true Christian.
But sadly, that is how people who do not know Jesus view Christians nowadays.
People do not see Christians as any different from non-Christians when it comes to making money.
Many Christians cheat on their taxes just like non-Christians.
They lie to make money just like non-Christians.
They take advantage of others just like non-Christians.
But this should not be happening.
Christians should make, save, invest, and use their wealth righteously.
They must be different than non-Christians when it comes to gaining their wealth.
But sadly, too often, it is not the case.
We must gain our wealth honestly.
We must not earn money illegally or unethically.
We must not make money by lying, cheating, or do anything that is dishonest.
Nowadays, the gap between rich and poor has become even greater due to the COVID-19 crisis.
That is why there are so many people who sympathize with the participants in “Squid Game.”
Also, this is why there are a lot of people who are attempting to make quick money through things like Bitcoin, stock market, or gambling.
But we must be careful how we make money.
We must gain our wealth honestly.
III. We must use our wealth for others (v. 5).
Verse 5 says this.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
This is the last charge against the wealthy.
They used their wealth in luxurious self-indulging ways.
And that was immoral in God’s eyes.
In their unrestrained indulgence, the rich had “fattened” themselves in “the day of slaughter.”
James used graphic imagery to indicate that the rich will face the judgment of God.
When the judgment is fast approaching, they were fattening themselves, like cattle completely unaware of their impending destruction.
But why should we not use our wealth in self-indulging ways?
It is because our wealth is not ours.
It belongs to God.
We are just managers.
We must use our wealth to glorify God and love others.
We must not use it in self-indulging ways.
In the drama “Squid Game,” there are basically two classes of people.
The poor people who decided to participate in the game.
And the rich people who organized the game because they got so bored with their wealth.
They tried everything else that money could buy.
But they became bored and wanted more excitement.
Therefore, they organized the game to create excitement for themselves.
They watched others fight for their lives for their entertainment.
They played with people’s lives for fun.
Obviously, it is not a true story.
It did not really happen.
People do not use other people for entertainment, or do they?
Therefore, I suggest you to do this when it comes to money.
Make as much as you can.
Save as much as you can.
And give as much as you can.
At the end of the drama “Squid Game,” there is a winner who won all the money.
He kept the money for a while.
But he started to use the money that he won to take care of the people’s family who played the game with him and lost.
And that brought some satisfaction to him.
We must remember this.
We do not become happy just because we have money.
Rather, we can become happy when we use our money well.
We must use our wealth for others.
During this Christmas season, think about the ways that you can use your money for others.
There can be so many different ways to do it.
Especially, because of the pandemic, so many people are in financially difficult situations.
We must find ways to help them and love them.
If God has blessed you with wealth and having enough, then we must use it for others.
We must use our wealth for others.
Conclusion
The Bible never spoke against money or being rich.
God never condemns rich people.
But God condemns the people who hoard their wealth for themselves.
God condemns people who gain wealth unethically and immorally.
God also condemns people who misuse their wealth.
In “Squid Game,” people participated in the deadly games.
Why?
It is not because they had no choice.
If the participants decided to stop the game by a majority vote, the game would be stopped.
Then they would be able to get out of that hellish game.
They could quit the game and go home.
They actually did it once.
But when they came back to their real world, the reality was more hellish than the world where the game took place.
So, they came back and continued the game.
This is how people live nowadays.
They feel that they live in a world that resembles hell more than heaven.
It is our job to bring a taste of heaven to their lives.
We can use our money and resources that God gave us to do it.
Let us do it well by putting it into practice during this week.
