Rich Man, Poor Man
James 1:9-11
The issue of money has been a prominent one from the inception of the church. Jesus spoke a great deal about it himself. Consider this:
o 16 of 38 parables were concerned with money/possessions.
o 1 of 10 verses in the gospels (288) deal directly with money.
o The Bible has 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2000 verses on money/possessions.
Why all this talk about money and possessions? Because Jesus
understood so well the tremendous influence of this issue in our lives. Social research supports the biblical emphasis on the issue of money. Think about these findings from George Barna:
o 50% of Christians consider money to the primary indicator of success.
o 19% of Christians believe you can tell how successful a person is by examining what they own.
James did not miss the emphasis on money and possessions the
teaching of Jesus. We will find that in four different passages James discusses the issue of money and possessions. Today we will consider the first of these passages in James 1:9-11. In this passage, James addresses our attitudes related to wealth and poverty. He challenges us to view people and possessions through Christian eyes that see things through the framework of godly values.
I. A Christian understanding of possessions changes our view of
people (vv. 9-10).
A. The standard view during James¡¦ day was that spiritual
standing was indicated by material standing.
1. The poor were ignored or punished by God and
deserved no special courtesy.
2. The wealthy were blessed by God and should be
shown favor.
3. So, the wealthy were viewed as spiritually blessed
and worthy of special treatment while the poor were
considered spiritually poor and treated poorly.
(see James 2:1-4)
B. Salvation calls for a radically different view of people.
1. The poor man should take pride in his high position.
a. Though he is materially poor, he has become
spiritually rich in Jesus Christ.
b. Though he has no honor in worldly terms,
he is exalted and given dignity in Christ.
2. The rich man should take pride in his low position.
a. Though materially rich, he has been humbled
by the recognition that his riches cannot bring
him eternal life.
b. By humbling himself, the rich man has come
to receive true riches in Christ.
3. Both the rich man and the poor man find their hope
in the spiritual reality of God¡¦s grace in Christ. Their
material standing does not matter.
a. The poor man is not kept from the treasures
heaven by his poverty.
b. The rich man cannot gain the treasures of
heaven by his wealth.
II. A Christian understanding of possessions changes our view of
possessions (vv. 10-11).
A. Possessions and their possessors pass away.
1. James uses the example of the wild flowers which
appear for a time and then are scorched by the arid
winds and die.
2. So it is with possessions and their possessors. They
are here for a very short time and then they are gone.
B. The point is that we cannot place eternal significance on that
which is temporal.
1. Material wealth does not last. We cannot depend on
it to secure eternal blessing.
2. We will die one day and our wealth will be gone. We
cannot depend on that which we cannot take beyond
the grave.
ILL: There was a man who loved money more than anything. He worked all his life and hoarded as much as he could. Just before he died, he told his wife, ¡§When I die, put all my money in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife with me.¡¨ She promised him that she would.
At his funeral, just before the undertakers closed the casket, his wife put a box in the casket. The casket was closed and rolled away.
The wife¡¦s friend said, ¡§I know you didn¡¦t put all that money in there with that man. You weren¡¦t foolish enough to do that.¡¨
The wife said, ¡§I promised him I would put the money in the casket.¡¨
¡§You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him?¡¨ her friend asked.
¡§Yes¡¨ she said, ¡§I wrote him a check.¡¨
APP: Listen, there is coming a day when all our accumulated wealth is going to be just as good as that check. When the petals of this fragile flower called life have wilted and died, our possessions are going to be of no value to us.
We cannot trust in material things. One man got very upset with his pastor for talking about God¡¦s ownership of all things and the transitory nature of our possessions. The man invited the preacher over to his lavish estate. He walked him through the gardens and woods of the elaborate grounds of the estate. When the tour was complete, he said, ¡§Now, are you going to tell me that all of this land does not belong to me?¡¨ The pastor smiled and said, ¡§Ask me that same questions 100 years from now.¡¨
Listen beloved. 100 years from now, perhaps 50 years from now, perhaps 10 years from now, perhaps one year from now ¡V our possessions are going to mean nothing. We will be gone or they will be gone or both. They don¡¦t last. We cannot trust in them for our eternity. We must trust in Jesus Christ alone.
The Seductive Power of Possessions
The world views true treasure in terms of bank accounts, houses, stocks, cars, boats, businesses, etc. In the world¡¦s eyes, the accumulation of these treasures is significant. The importance of people is measured by how much of this treasure they own and control.
How seductive is this view of possessions? Just consider the financial scandals of the past year. Enron, World Com, even Martha Stewart. The desire to gain possessions and the accompanying sense of control and prestige they give led these executives and businesses into personal and financial ruin.
This is what happens when possessions become the possessor. As one man described it, it is like a fly who lands on flypaper and thinks it is his flypaper. He doesn¡¦t realize until too late the flypaper has him. James is trying to help us adopt a view of possessions which keeps the possessions from possessing us.
Are your possessions possessing you?
„« Are you neglecting your spiritual life because you are consumed with accumulating more?
„« Is your family suffering so that you can maintain a certain lifestyle which you have come to associate with success?
„« Do you have trouble giving to God or people who might be in need?
„« Do discussions of money and possessions dominate your conversation with your spouse?
A Radical View of Possessions
James has presented to us a radically different view of possessions and wealth. True treasure, from the biblical standpoint, is our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the spiritual treasure of salvation and all that goes with it. Earthly possessions are not eternal. The spiritual treasure of Jesus Christ changes the way we view wealth and poverty. It is better to be earthly poor and spiritually rich. Whether you have little or much in terms of earthly goods matters nothing when you stand before God. The rich man and the poor man stand on level ground when they appear before the Lord of heaven and earth. Only the true treasure of Jesus matters then.
Even for the Christian, it is not the amount of material things we possess but how we use them that matters to God. Material things are a gift from God bestowed to us. We are managers of those gifts. When we die, it won¡¦t matter how much we had but what we did with it that influences our reward in heaven.
CONCLUSION:
Clovis Chappell told the story of the evacuation of the city of Pompei which was destroyed in AD 79 by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. During the excavation of the city, there was found a body embalmed by the ashes of the volcano. It was that of a woman. Her feet were turned toward the city gate, but her face was turned backward toward something that lay just beyond her outstretched hands. The prize for which those frozen fingers were reaching was a bag of pearls. Chappell says, ¡§¡Kthough death was hard at her heels, and life was beckoning to her beyond the city gates, she could not shake off their spell. She had turned to pick them up with death as her reward.¡¨
Dear friend, do not let the spell of temporal possessions keep you from everlasting life. Do not try to fill the emptiness of your life with things that will only fade and pass away. Jesus Christ is the only one who can satisfy the longing of your soul. He alone will give you eternal treasure.
Christian brother or sister, do not allow your possessions to possess you. Do not miss out on the true blessings of family, friends, fellowship with God, ministry in His church, because you are consumed with material things. View your possessions through the eyes of Christ.
Someone has well said, ¡§The man who has no money is poor. The man who has only money is poorer still.¡¨ Don¡¦t let the worldly illusion of material success lead you down the path to an empty life and an eternity without Christ.
