Flipped Right Side Up James 1:9-11 March 10, 2002
James Boice once heard a statement given by an actress named Sophie Tucker.
She was being asked by reporters about her early struggles before she became a success, and whether or not she had been happy in her years of poverty. She answered, "Listen, I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor. And believe me, rich is better." #2477
Introduction
Well, there’s a couple cheery little lines, eh? If you’re really honest, don’t you wonder about this guy James?
In the first couple of verses of his letter, he tells us, “Consider it pure joy when you encounter all kinds of trials!” Rejoicing and trials don’t go together well in my book. I rejoice over good things, I moan and complain about trials and problems.
NOW he’s telling us that poor people should be happy and rich people should be unhappy. What IS IT with this guy? Why does he want us to be miserable when things are good, and happy when things are bad? Is James a spoil sport? Or more importantly, is James teaching us that God is a spoil sport? A stingy and stern God who doesn’t want us to enjoy the good things of life?
Children lined up in the cafeteria of a religious school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The teacher made a note: "Take only one, God is watching." At the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A boy wrote a note: "Take all you want, God is watching the apples."
Is THAT the kind of God we have? Or is there something else to learn here?
Things are not always what they seem.
Well, let’s think for a minute about what he’s saying.
First, he says, “The poor person should rejoice in his exalted position”
The sentence can be translated even more generally: It literally says, “the humble or lowly person” should rejoice in his exalted (position)
I think it refers not just to income level, but to social status.
A plumber may make more money than a college professor, but he won’t be invited to the same parties
Why would someone rejoice in a low economic or social standing?
In his commentary, William Barclay says Christianity gives the poor or “lowly” person a new sense of his or her VALUE
The world may tell us our worth is based on our income or social standing, but God doesn’t.
“Lowly” people can rejoice because they have VALUE in the church
No one is more or less important in a church
I mean that! It includes the PASTOR!!
If we believe we are the body of Christ, then each one of us has a vital role to perform.
It may be an “upfront” role; it may be a “behind the scenes” role
But every Christian has been gifted by God to build up the Body of Christ
(Don’t ever say, “I don’t have any spiritual gifts” – unless you’re trying to say you’re not a Christian! If you are a Christian, you are gifted and God wants to use your gifts!)
You may not know what they are, but you have them!
Because you are uniquely created by God, you have been uniquely gifted by him
You are here to fulfill His purpose for you
Lowly people also see their value to God when they receive Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
What more powerful way is there to communicate that you MATTER to God than that Jesus was willing to die to restore your relationship to God?
Muretus: “Call no man worthless for whom Christ died”
The poor and “lowly” can rejoice because they’re NOT poor and lowly in God’s sight.
They have as much value to God as anyone else
They also rejoice, as James said in the first few verses, because their trials (and poverty is a trial) are working in them to make them more like Christ.
You may be thinking, “Well all those things are true… but they’re just as true of rich people! Rich Christians have spiritual gifts, they matter to God and to the church, too!!
And of course that’s true.
But a teaching that runs through the Scriptures is that riches and comfort often have a deadening affect on our souls
Think of the story of the rich young ruler. He said he came to Jesus to know how to receive eternal life. He said he’d obeyed ALL the commandments since his youth. Jesus said, “Fine then. All you have to do is sell all you have and give it to the poor.”
You know how the story ends: The rich young ruler walked away sadly. He kept his riches and left Jesus behind.
And what did Jesus say after he left? Do you remember?
He said, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
And forget all this stuff about a narrow mountain pass called “The Eye of the Needle.” Jesus wasn’t talking about a tight squeeze or a difficult task. He was talking about an impossible task. He makes that clear by saying, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
In vss 5-9, James talks about the Double-minded person, the one who cannot just receive God’s wisdom
Wealth has a tendency to make us double minded
Like the rich young ruler, wealthy folks are sometimes possessed by their possessions
I recently read this excerpt from a memoir by Tina Sinatra, Frank Sinatra’s daughter
His health was in tatters and his life mired in financial wrangles, but my father refused to stop giving concerts, "I’ve just got to earn more money," he said.
His performances, sad to say, were becoming more and more uneven. Uncertain of his memory, he became dependant on tele-prompters. When I saw him at Desert Inn in Las Vegas, he struggled through the show and felt so sick at the end that he needed oxygen from a tank that he kept on hand. At another show he forgot the lyrics to "Second Time Around," a ballad he had sung a thousand times. His adoring audience finished it for him.
I couldn’t bear to see Dad struggle. I remembered all the times he repeated the old boxing maxim "You gotta get out before you hit the mat." He wanted to retire at the top of his game, and I always thought he would know when his time came, but pushing 80 he lost track of when to quit. After seeing one too many of these fiascos, I told him, "Pop, you can stop now; you don’t have to stay on the road."
With a stricken expression he said, "No, I’ve got to earn more money. I have to make sure everyone is taken care of."
Since his death there have been constant family wrangles over his fortune. [Tina Sinatra with Jeff Coplon, My Father’s Daughter (Simon and Cchuster, 2000), quoted on PreachingToday.com]
There are countless stories of lives that have really been shipwrecked not for LACK of money, but because of an abundance of money.
Money = Responsibility before God
It demonstrates our priorities.
Do you want to know what’s really important to you?
Take your checkbook and look through it.
“Where your treasure is, Jesus said, “there will your heart be also.”
The more we have, the more we are in danger of being possessed by our possessions,
The more we are in danger of being a slave to money – as Frank Sinatra came to be.
And spiritually, that’s a very dangerous place to be.
That’s the reason that the rich person should concern themselves with their “humble” position
Sometimes, perspective is everything
Let me ask you a couple questions:
Is it a blessing or a curse:
Doris Bunnell – in her mid-late 80’s fell and broke her leg.
Was that a blessing or a curse – a good thing or a bad thing? Well, last week it seemed like a bad thing – but it may have saved her life, because she was in the hospital already when she had her stroke. Was it a blessing or a curse that she broke her leg?
One church I know of has an endowment that keeps their doors open despite the fact that their attendance has dwindled down to a mere handful.
Isn’t it wonderful that they have that money? Isn’t it a blessing?
But because they have enough money to pay the preacher and hold services on Sunday, they feel no need to reach out to those around them with the gospel. There are no ministries besides Sunday morning worship. No Sunday School, no youth group – no need for either of them, since there are no young people – no Bible studies. Nothing.
There is no life in that church, no desire to grow – spiritually or numerically. Is their endowment a blessing or a curse?
If they didn’t have that endowment, what would happen?
One of two things: the church would die, or the church would realize that it needs to be THE CHURCH. It needs to do outreach, needs to find their mission, their purpose, needs to SEEK GOD and HIS help or they’ll DIE. But you see, they don’t really need God. They have an endowment. They can have a church that runs just fine without God.
So is it a blessing? or a curse?
A Tale of Two Guys
One Christian – we’ll call him Dave – struggles to make ends meet.
He is constantly praying that God will provide for his family. Dave knows his dependence on God and develops a deep and intimate relationship with Him. Despite the difficulties of his circumstances (or perhaps because of them) his life is run through with joy and laughter. When he says grace, he’s truly thankful, because he KNOWS that apart from the grace of God there wouldn’t be anything on that plate.
Dave is the kind of person people are just drawn to, even though his clothes aren’t particularly stylish and his car’s on it’s last legs. But he just has this “quality” about him. There’s a peace. There’s joy. When he says, “How are you doing?” he stops and listens for the answer. He cares about people.
Everybody loves Dave.
Mike is also a Christian.
He has a comfortable job, nice home, some money in the bank. He tries to get to church at least a couple times a month, but it’s hard because he’s got a LOT to do. He often works overtime and Saturdays, so he’s ready for a day OFF on Sunday. He reads his Bible when he has a few minutes, but he often finds it hard to concentrate. He says a few prayers for his family as he drives to work. He considers himself a faithful Christian, but doesn’t feel that he’s really close to God.
He goes to the same church as Dave, and like a lot of folks, he really admires the joy in Dave’s life, he wishes he could have that kind of peace and contentment. It seems like he’s always torn in a hundred directions. Dave has all the responsibilities he has, but somehow they don’t seem to weigh on him as much. He doesn’t know how Dave does it, especially with all the troubles and financial scrapes he’s been through.
What’s the difference between Dave and Mike?
Is Dave a “REAL” Christian and Mike isn’t? NO
Is Dave a good guy, but Mike isn’t so good? NO
The difference between Dave and Mike is this:
Dave knows his need for God
Mike doesn’t
Mike wouldn’t consider himself “rich” – but he has enough to take care of his needs and those of his family.
Mike has enough to be self-sufficient.
He has enough that he doesn’t really have a sense of his need for God.
Dave KNOWS his need for God
When he says he doesn’t know how he would make it without the Lord in his life, he’s not making up spiritual chatter.
He really has learned, in his troubles, to lean on God.
Mike believes in God
If you asked him if he needed God in his life, he’d probably say, “Yes! Of course!”
But if you asked him “for what?” you might stump him.
Throughout this sermon, I haven’t even tried to define “Who’s rich” or “Who’s poor” according to the verses we’ve read.
That’s because I don’t think it depends on your bank balance.
It depends on whether you are “self-sufficient” or “God-dependent.”
It depends on whether you know your need for God – not “KNOW” (head) but “KNOW” (heart), or whether your faith is just an add-on to the life you have created by your own hands.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to apply this Scripture to our lives if we are self-sufficient
It is not necessarily true that all poor people develop a deep relationship with God and rich people never do
It’s just that those who have enough to feel we are self-sufficient, we forget we are God-dependent.
And as Jesus says, is the “poor in heart” – those who know their need for God who possess the Kingdom of Heaven.
Is this an inevitable thing? Can “WE” rich develop the same kind of intimacy with God that “THOSE” poor do?
Yes! And James even tells us how.
He reminds us of a truth that is frequently repeated in Scripture:
That wealth – and even life itself – is fleeting
Like a flower in the desert, it springs up, but is soon dried up by the blazing sun.
Well, THAT’S a Happy thought, eh?
In a sense, yes.
Because it is a truth that can keep us from clinging so tightly to things that we can’t let go and live.
You know how people catch monkeys? They take some kind of treat that the monkey loves and then take a jar or a gourd or something that has a hole in the top that’s big enough for the monkey’s open hand, but not his closed fist. The monkey will grab hold of that thing and will never let it go… and never be able to get the jar off his hand. He gets weak, and it becomes easy for somebody to catch him.
Money and possessions are shadows.
Shadows of the good things God has stored up in heaven for those who love him.
If we SEE them as gifts of God; If we SEE them as shadows and not as life itself, we can enjoy them
If we don’t, our love for money, and for things can starve us from REAL life
Conclusion
James reminds us that “Things are not always what they seem.”
Is money what we lack to make us happier? How many of you have said, “If I only had a little more money, I would be SO MUCH happier!”
James says, Not really. You would get the temporary rush of having more, but that fades pretty quickly.
Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit”
James (his brother) said, “The poor should rejoice in their exalted position and the rich in their humble circumstances.
Both are to rejoice
1 Tim 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
* An ancient source says that Alexander the Great gave instructions that when he died his body should be placed in the coffin in such a way that his hands were visible. He wanted it to be seen that his hands were open—and empty.
All of us move from this world to the next with empty hands. If the promises of Christ are to be believed, though, our hands are empty so that we can receive from him a hundredfold more than we left behind. Our hands are empty that we might receive blessings untold.
