Ralph Porter

© 2003

    I don't know anyone who likes the passage we're going to consider this morning! No one has ever told me this passage is their life verse! It's a passage that is difficult for most of us to accept. In fact, Pastor Rod and I dislike the passage so much that we tried to arrange the service so there wouldn't be time to preach it! No one enjoys this passage--except people who want to get the rich! The reason we struggle so much with this message is because we don't understand what James is trying to tell us.

    In the midst of the affliction the church has been going through, James has called God's people to trust Him. James has been showing us that a living faith produces peace. Nevertheless, God's people are fighting!

    The final solution for conflict in the midst of times of suffering is to depend totally on the Lord. Peace won't come as a result of our plans (4:13-17). It won't come as a result of our funds (5:1-6). For the suffering Christians in the first century church, these two issues came together. They planned to escape affliction by going elsewhere to make money.

    James warns us that we can't count on our plans. We can't count on our funds. But, we can count on the Lord! We should pursue His will; not our plans; and not our funds. In James 5:1-6, the writer warns us not to count on our funds to solve our problems. "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you!" (5:1).

    His warning makes it sound like God is down on the rich. Some people tell us "God wants to make you rich." Others tells us "God condemns the rich." In reality, neither is true! The Bible does say God wants us to prosper. However, God doesn't use the world's standard to define prosperity. To define prosperity in terms of money is a pagan idea. God defines prosperity in terms of true value, worth, love, acceptance, fruit of the Spirit, peace, and all we need.

    James is NOT saying that God hates rich people! Paul says that God gives us "all things richly to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17) . It's O.K. to be rich! The problem isn't being rich. It isn't the fact that people have a lot of money that he's concerned about. Wealth is relative anyway. By any objective standard, viewed through the lens of history, or through the lens of the world at large, we are all rich! That's not what James is concerned about.

    James is concerned about the attitude of those who want more riches. This attitude isn't limited to those who have riches. It's the attitude of those who make money their god, and always seek more.

    Those suffering have noticed the lifestyle of the rich and powerful. They have become jealous, wishing the same for themselves. They think wealth can solve their problem. James warns us of the danger of seeking to imitate them.

    The solution to our problem won't be found in riches. The solution is found in faith in God. We need to get our eyes off our possessions and fix our eyes on God and His plan for our lives. Unfortunately, these believers were struggling with this. They couldn't get their mind off the money issue. Some people say, "Well, that's not our problem. Look at how little we get paid!" They didn't have money. They just wanted to have it. They were focusing on the wrong place. They thought money would solve their problem. James wants us to understand the danger of this philosophy.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE FOR WEALTH WEEP WHEN JUDGMENT COMES   5:1

    "Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you."

    The issue of wealth is introduced with the lament of those who trust in riches (1). James introduces two main reasons why the wealthy weep and why God judges the rich. The first of those reasons why rich people weep when God's judgment comes, is derived from the fact that people who live for wealth try to hoard it.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE FOR WEALTH TRY TO HOARD IT   5:2-3

    "Your wealth has rotted, and your clothes have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have become corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days."

    The attempt to hoard what we have especially evident in hard times. People try to hoard what they have, only to watch it rot!

Our wealth is temporary and perishable

    It won't last! When we trust in our possessions, if disaster strikes, we lose it all! When judgment comes, wealth won't help. James looks at the three major kinds of wealth, all of which are temporary.

     What happens when they're accumulated--when we hoard them? The first form of "wealth" or "riches" James refers to describes grain-a basic commodity in an agricultural society like theirs. The problem with accumulating grain is that hoarded grain rots (2a). Something similar occurs in our modern homes with our big, full refrigerators. Every time we clean out our refrigerator, we always find something that has been pushed way to the back and has become moldy!

    A similar problem occurs when we accumulate more clothes than we can ever use, and something sits in the back that we never get around to wearing. When we eventually pull out that old wool sweater, we discover that a moth or some other critter has gotten to it. Hoarded clothes get moth-eaten (2b)!

    The problem with accumulating gold and silver is that hoarded money becomes corroded (3a). Other passages warn us concerning the problem with full safes: "thieves break in and steal!" Corrosion sets in when you pile stuff in a corner and don't use it.

Wealth never produces what we're looking for

    What makes people "filthy rich"? They stockpile more than they'll ever be able to use! But that hoarded wealth never produces what we're looking for--even when we accumulate what appears to be more than we could ever use in a lifetime! It doesn't satisfy!

Hoarded wealth ultimately leads to judgment

    Corroded stockpiles of stuff testify against people who hoard them and become the basis for judgment (3b ). The severity of James' warning is derived from the hard times they live in. In spite of the affliction they are going through, yet they try to hoard stuff. People who depend on wealth try to hoard things in hard times. People out to get "just a little bit more" for themselves, set themselves up for frustration. It's the condition of the person described in 4:1-3. They are always seeking, but they never get enough to satisfy their thirst.

    The tragic condition of such people is seen in the story of Bertha Adams who died alone in West Palm Beach, Florida on Easter Sunday in 1976. The cause of her death: malnutrition. After wasting away to fifty pounds, she could no longer stay alive. When authorities examined her house they found "the biggest mess you could imagine!" She had begged food from neighbors and piled up clothes collected from the Salvation Army. She appeared to be a penniless widow.

    Yet among her belongings they found two keys which led to safe deposit boxes, containing over 700 shares of AT&T stock and nearly $800,000 in cash. More than a million dollars stashed away! For what? These were her last days. Her mess of hoarded goods was worthless and stood as a testimony to her foolishness!

    People who live to "strike it rich" try to hoard what they have. They watch what they have hoarded rot, and they are contaminated by it! Ultimately, they are judged because of it.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE FOR WEALTH

 PARTICIPATE IN THE JUDGMENT OF THE WEALTHY   4-6

    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. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who doesn't oppose you.

    The second reason God judges the wealthy is because wealthy people accumulate wealth by mistreating others. 

Three common offenses the rich commit

    1.    Fraud   4

    They beat their workers out of the pay they deserve. The don't pay just wages. The boss enjoys the benefit of the labor of the workers and then beats them out of their pay. They beat them out of what they have coming to them! God knows all about it, and will respond appropriately.

    2.    Luxurious living   5

    They live it up in self-centered pleasure. They waste what they have on personal pleasure, while others don't have enough to live adequately. They aren't concerned about the needs of others. This condition is compared to fattening yourself up on the day when the slaughter is supposed to occur.

    3.    Murder   6

    They kill innocent people who have done nothing to them. They kill anyone who gets in their way, who pose a threat to them, especially people who are known for righteousness. If someone takes business away from them by treating the customer fairly, they often disappear--especially in third world countries.

These injustices the wealthy commit lead to judgment
    People who wish to live according to godly principles will have a hard time in a world controlled by the rich and powerful. The price of trying to get rich is a lifestyle that leads to judgment.

    People who want to get rich haven't understood where it leads. They won't be able to follow the rules the rich have to live by, without giving up their biblical foundation. They have to make compromises and accept different rules, if they want to join the ranks of the rich. So, we have to make a choice. Are we going to capitulate, and join the enemy? Or, are we going to hang in there, trust God, and let Him work out the best solution for our affliction?

    What is the destiny of the wealthy? "Fat cattle go first!" (5). In the slaughter house, the fat cattle are considered the best. They are the first priority. They are the ones that are taken first. Fattening cattle is a strategy to prepare them for slaughter.

    Who do conquering nations go after when they invade a city? "Fattening them up" with stuff serves as part of God's judgment on them. Getting fatter leads to judgment--not to escape from hard times! If we join the enemy, pursuing the same goals, we join him in judgment. So what's the point?

THOSE WHO PURSUE RICHES

PURSUE THE DESTINY OF THE RICH!

IT WOULD BE BETTER

TO ABANDON THIS PURSUIT

AND SEEK GOD!

    Accumulating wealth won't get you what you're looking for. Accumulating wealth won't get us through hard times. We must depend on God--not on our funds. It's not the bank balance and CDs that will get us through the hard times. It's not the stocks, bonds and mutual funds; not the IRAs and 401Ks. It's not the education we get. It's not the prestigious job and big salary. It's not the empire we manage to build. Those things can be gone in a heartbeat. If that's what you're depending on, it can all be gone overnight. Don't think we're exempt!

    Our hope is in the Lord--not in the goods we can accumulate. He's our hope for eternal life. We receive that life as a gift, by trusting in what Christ has done on the cross, not by earning it, or by paying for it with what we put on the offering plate on Sunday morning.

    Our hope is in the Lord to meet our needs for living tomorrow also. When living is about living for Him, we can depend on Him for tomorrow. We don't have to hoard what He has given to us. He wants us to use what He has given us for His glory and trust Him for the future. What are you hoping in this morning?