Sermon on James 5:1-6, How to Handle Wealth

The Armenians have a proverb:  If you can’t be rich, be the neighbor of a rich man.  The Armenians are apparently much more trusting of rich people than James was.  When we come to our passage in James 5:1-6, we find some of the harshest words in his letter.  If I were to summarize what James is talking about in understated terms it would be, “If you are the wrong kind of rich person, God doesn’t like you and He’s going to make you wish you’d never been born.”  Now isn’t that a happy message?!

Of course, most of us are probably thinking right now, “Whew, I avoided that one.  This passage doesn’t apply to me.  I’m not rich!”  Isn’t that our easy way out?  There are very few of us who expect to see our story on “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” very few of us who would even aspire to that.   Very few of us would expect the mayor to give us special treatment at city events.  Very few of us would have advisors to tell how much money we made this week.  But many of us do drive home in a comfortable, air-conditioned car, click open our power garage door, drive in and click it shut, get out of our cars and enter our beautiful air-conditioned homes with more space per one inhabitant than most of the world lives in per dozen.  We can stay insulated from our neighbors and can turn on the TV and tune out the world almost completely.  Hey, now we’re even getting the telemarketers under control.  We are rich beyond the imaginations of many.

Even those of us who don’t have a two-car garage are wealthy beyond the imaginations of most in the world.  As we know, riches are in the eye of the beholder.  Did you know that the worldwide average annual income per individual in terms of purchasing power is $8,200 (2003 est., CIA world fact book)?  How long would you last on that income?

So are we rich?  Is it just possible that some aspect of this passage applies to us?  Well let’s see what it has to say.  Why does God say He is upset with these rich people and ready to punish them?

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 5:1-3)

They have hoarded their wealth.  Hoard means to collect, accumulate, pile up, amass.  What’s wrong with that?

Look at v.4

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 rich have failed to pay those who worked for them.  Now we’re getting somewhere.  That’s certainly not right.

Look at v. 5

⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

The rich have lived in self-indulgence.  Well, does that mean we can’t do anything nice for ourselves?  How much is too much?

Look at v.6

⁶ You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

The rich have condemned and murdered innocent people.  Well, there again, that’s just wrong.  But we haven’t ever done anything like that.

But let’s put this in perspective, in terms we can apply to ourselves.  Because we need to see the heart of people who live this way so we can understand our own hearts more clearly.  When we look at it that way, here’s what I think James is saying to us.

1. 1. You must not trust in your riches to save your life (or God will see to it that your wealth disappears).

What is the heart of a hoarder?  We all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge.  Charles Dickens spelled it out beautifully for us.  His love of money started out as a yearning for something secure in his life.  What could he be sure would make it so he never had to be fearful again?  Money!  Eventually he became so fixed on it that even money’s ability to hedge against hunger and want was no longer the focus, but money for money’s sake.  He would count and recount and take pleasure just in doing that.  But it was fear that began the process.

Most of us can identify with the fear of not having enough money to keep us safe.  After all, how could we live without a guaranteed source of income?  Like the rich young ruler, if Jesus told us the way to have eternal life was to give all we have to the poor and follow him, we too would walk away sorrowful.  We could not do it, because we can’t conceive of living without a guaranteed source of income.  But folks, there is no such thing.  Talk to some of our friends who have been without work this last year.  Whether we want to admit it or not, God is our only guaranteed source of income.  He has promised to meet our needs and He has instructed us to believe that and live by that faith.

This is how our missionaries are living.  Look at the Daniels who are here back at home for a month.  They are living on the generosity of donors who see the importance of their work in Uruguay.  But there is no guarantee that those donors will continue to give.  They are dependent on us and we could fail them at any moment.  But God will not fail them.  If we fail to provide, God will use someone else.  And that is what we have to believe for ourselves.  We can’t let our fear move us away from trusting God to trusting in perishable riches.

Are you trusting in your riches to save your life?  The evidence for that might be the extent to which you are amassing wealth.  How much excess do you have?  In our college and young adult classes we take up an offering each Sunday to help provide some support for missionaries like the Daniels in Uruguay and the Vijayakumars in India.  We also use it to help some when our own people take short-term missions trips.  But if it ever starts to build up excess, we need to start looking for a way to spend it.  It might be tempting to think, “What if we need that for something down the road and we don’t have it?”  But when we see a need now, and we don’t help now when we can, we are hoarding.  We are trusting in our riches instead of God who richly supplies.

Are you doing something like this with your own income?  I’m not talking about having a reasonable retirement plan.  That is the loving thing to do if we can, so that others won’t have to be burdened with our care.  But be careful of going overboard.  God has a way of rusting, corroding and eating away what we illegitimately depend on to be our security.  He wants us to trust Him alone.  We must not put any other gods before Him.

Randy Alcorn, author of The Treasure Principle and several novels, learned firsthand about losing and gaining possessions, and about heavenly priorities:

Back when I was pastor of a large church, making a good salary and earning book royalties, the material possessions I valued most were my books. My money went toward many great books. Thousands of them. Those books meant a lot to me. I loaned them out, but it troubled me when they weren’t returned or came back looking shabby.

Then I started to sense God’s leading to hand over the books—all of them—to begin a church library. I started looking at the names of those who checked them out, sometimes dozens of names per book. I realized that by releasing the books, I had invested in others’ lives. Suddenly, the more worn the book, the more delighted I was. My perspective was totally changed.

Has your perspective changed?  What could you do with that wealth, whatever form it is in, that would be the opposite of hoarding it?  How could you use it to change the lives of those around you?  Don’t hoard, share!

There’s a second thing I think James is saying to us.

2. You must not unjustly treat those who have helped you get rich (or God will listen to their cries and punish you).

In The Message verse 4 reads, “All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger.”  Is it possible to get rich without exploiting others?  William Jennings Bryan said, “No one can earn a million dollars honestly.”  But I have to answer, “Yes, it must be possible to get rich without exploiting others.”  In fact the Scriptures talk much about the wealth that comes to those who are righteous.  But if we were to ask if it is possible to get rich without the help of others, the resounding answer must be, “No.  Absolutely not!”  And so the question then becomes, “Are you adequately rewarding those who helped you get where you are?”

One of my dear friends is Scott Bailey.  You see him up here nearly every Sunday morning giving the announcements.  Scott owns a business and many is the time I have heard him express concern about how his business is faring, but not just because of how it will affect his family, but for how it will affect the scores of families of his employees.  His stepbrother, Mike Powell, also a member of this church, is a co-owner of the business and sees things the same way.  That’s the way we’re supposed to be.  That should be the norm.  Christian employers should be the first line of defense for their employees.  Are you the first line of defense for the people you employ?  Or do they have to file suit or form a union to get you to deal fairly with them?

And in a real way, even if you don’t own the company you work at, your fellow workers are responsible for helping you gain what you gain monetarily.  Their well-being is really your well-being.  How do you respond when they are in need?  Do you turn your back on them?  Are they stepping-stones to your advancement or fellow rocks in the wall God is building for your protection?  Are you there with a helping hand, recognizing that without them you are less successful, you are less humane.  God made us individuals, but God also made us a community of neighbors.  Does your money make you feel more or less a member of your community?

Watch out for that island mentality that money can create in you.  That is another sign that you are trusting in your money more than in the Lord.  How you treat your co-workers is a basis for how God will evaluate your use of the riches He has entrusted to you.

Ebenezer Scrooge is our prototype of the stingy hoarder of wealth.  But did you know that according to a recently published book, The Wealth of Michelangelo, art history professor Rab Hatfield argues that Michelangelo, the famous painter of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, was a miser?  Although he constantly complained that he was living a life of deprivation, he died in 1564 with the modern-day equivalent of tens of millions of dollars.  And this wasn’t a last-minute acquisition.  For most of his 89 years he was either marginally, moderately, or massively rich.  But he refused to show it because he didn’t want to share it.  Michelangelo would complain to family members about how short of money he was, melodramatically bemoaning his lot while warding off their requests for help.

Didn’t James tell us earlier in his letter that if we know our brother or sister has a need and do nothing to meet it, that our faith is dead?

There’s a third thing James is telling us.

3. You must not use your riches for self-indulgent purposes (or you will only be fattening yourself up for the day of slaughter).

Oh my goodness, this is a tough one.  Are we supposed to live in utter simplicity, without any luxuries, without any nice things, when we can easily afford them?  Didn’t Jesus praise the woman who poured out the expensive perfume on his feet, when the disciples were ready to condemn her wastefulness?  Why does God even speak of wealth as a blessing to the righteous if we can’t use it?  How much luxury is too much luxury?

Tony Campolo puts it this way, “If Jesus was ministering on earth in the flesh and had $40,000 and knew about the kids who are suffering and dying in Haiti, what kind of car would he buy?”

Something in us yells, “Not Fair!” when we hear that.  If we can’t buy a $40,000 car, can we buy a $20,000 one?  Or should we just get a Subaru or a Hyundai and forget it?  Someone has said that our whole economy is built on self-indulgence.  It’s what’s made us great as a nation!  [And we thought it was God who made us a great nation.]

If you have seen the movie account Schindler’s List you may remember that this German industrialist somewhat unwillingly began helping Jews get jobs in his factory to prevent them from being sent to the extermination camps.  He liked living his life of luxury but things were getting tougher as Germany was losing the war.  When the news came of Germany’s defeat and surrender, the Jews in his employ began thanking him for saving their lives.  But his conscience accused him.  “I could have sold my watches, my rings, to pay more employees.  I could have done more.”

I’ll never forget telling my son Stephen that I had to buy a new DVD/VCR combo for our downstairs entertainment center since we entertain the college and young adults group so often at our house.  All he had to say was, “You had to?” and I started realizing that what I also wanted to be able to do was replace the DVD-only player that was downstairs up in my bedroom so I could watch DVDs up there.  I was claiming ministry when in fact I was also being a little self-indulgent.

So what’s the answer?  How much is too much?  Can we not indulge ourselves at all?  If we say no, then how many frills are too many?  How do we define a frill?  If we say we can indulge ourselves, what makes us different from those who spend hundreds of dollars on clothes for their pets when so many in the world are lucky to own one decent piece of clothing.

I asked Jim Pritchard what he thought about all this and his answer was classic.  He went straight to the heart of the matter.  How, he said, does your spending fit in with the five purposes of God for your life?  Does it help you worship God more effectively?  Does it enable you to connect with others more easily?  Does your spending result in more effective equipping of disciples for ministry?  Does it enhance your service?  Does it give you a greater evangelistic edge?

If spending $40,000 on a car helps you fulfill God’s purpose for your life more effectively, then you need to do that.  What, you can’t conceive of that being possible?  Why did God have Solomon build the most magnificent temple in the entire world at the time when His Tabernacle would have sufficed?  There are times when God wants and needs us to be extravagant.  The woman who wasted a year’s salary on perfume for Jesus’ feet was proving the extravagance of her love and Jesus praised it.  It was fulfilling the purpose of worship.

The key is, are you spending your wealth for the sake of God’s kingdom, as expressed in the five Biblical purposes for your life, worship, unselfish fellowship, spiritual maturity, your ministry, and your mission?  The likelihood is that you and I are spending way too much on our own self-indulgence and not even thinking about whether God might want us to spend what we were going to spend on a new TV to help fund an audio-visual set up for one of our missionaries to present the gospel.  Most of us aren’t asking ourselves if that fund we were going to use to add a sunroom on our house might be put to better use paying off the debt on this house?  The point is to ask God what he wants you to do with your wealth.  But if He wants you to be extravagant, then spend conscience free!

Just remember,

• God won’t ask what kind of car you drove, but He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.
• God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
• God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet, but He’ll ask how many you helped to clothe.

And “God won’t ask if you gave your money away, but whether you realized it was His, that He entrusted it to your care to use the way He wanted.”  And that might possibly include buying nice clothes, house and car.  But make sure that’s His purpose for you.  John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, reminded us, “Self-denial of all kinds is the very life and soul of piety.”

There’s one more thing James wanted us to know.

4. You must not use your riches to influence justice your way (or the Righteous Judge will see to it that you get your due).

 One of our staple assumptions in America is that if you have enough money you can buy your own justice.  And the truth is, if I ever got in trouble and believed myself innocent, I would want to hire the best lawyer I could afford.  And that is still fair.  But there is also always the temptation to buy the unjust outcome of the trial.  The rich people of James day were either actually having people killed to get a favorable settlement of their case, or they were bribing the judges and having the poor thrown in prison or executed or so impoverished that they could not survive.  Does that happen today?  Undoubtedly!  Are there other ways to influence justice without resulting in people’s deaths?  Of course.  But the outcome is the same.  Justice is perverted and the innocent don’t get their just due.

But there is One in Heaven who will see to it that justice is exacted.  He does not accept a bribe.  He is not influenced by threats.  He is not persuaded by the size of your estate.  He doesn’t care what your name is or who you know.  He is the Lord God and He is coming to judge the quick and the dead.  His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will not mistake who is supposed to get reward and who is supposed to get punishment.  His eye is on the sparrow but his eye is on the vulture, too.

Do you think that you will escape the long arm of the Lord?  Do you think you can spend your money any way you want and God will take no account?  Do you really believe that God is not watching?  Then oh, my friend, you are going to be in for a shock on judgment day.  The Lord will judge and will not spare.  The time for mercy and forgiveness is now.  Do not live like the devil till the day you die and expect that God will spring for your release then.  You are only fattening yourself up for the slaughter, James says, and your end will be swift and decisive.

Woe to any of us who trusts in our wealth when it was God who made it possible for us to have it.  Woe to any of us who fails to care for those God used to help us gain our wealth.  Woe to any of us who continually spend for self-indulgent purposes instead of the purposes for which God made us.  And woe to any of us who thinks he can purchase the right to remove justice’s blindfold, for justice is of God and he will not fail to see it done.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, what kind of rich people are you going to be?  I feel it is the sad truth that we in America are not doing a good job of being stewards of God’s wealth.  The results are not good, as we compromise our integrity for the sake of money.

How else do you explain our slavery to debt?

• Consumer credit debt stands at a record $1.6 trillion.
• Consumer debt including home mortgages is $7 trillion.
• Debt is double what it was in 1990.
• Over the last 10 years, debt has increased 123 percent.
• The average family spends $400 more than it earns each year.
• Personal consumer debt is increasing at a rate of $1,000 per second.
• Twenty-three percent of the average person’s take-home pay already is committed to payment of existing debt.
• Fifty-six percent of all divorces are a result of financial tension in the home.
• The average credit card debt held by a student just out of college is $2,748.

The writer John Updike wisely said, “The fact that we still live well cannot ease the pain of feeling that we no longer live nobly.”

Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, who lived through the turn of the first century, said, “If anyone does not refrain from the love of money, he will be defiled by idolatry and so be judged as if he were one of the heathen.”

Once the longing for money comes, the longing also comes for what money can give: superfluities, nice rooms, luxuries at table, more clothes, and so on. Our needs will increase, for one thing brings another, and the result will be endless dissatisfaction. This is how it comes. (Mother Teresa)

Sudden loss often simplifies life.

One man put it this way when he suddenly found himself on a hospital bed. He writes: “I came to realize I no longer really cared for what the world chases after, such as how much money you have in the bank and how many cars are parked in the garage. As it says in Ecclesiastes, chasing after these things is like chasing the wind, anyway. Suddenly, the rat race became vanity to me, utter vanity. I felt naked before God.

Bill Hybels, pastor, Willow Creek Community Church, said, “If I died, I would take none of the stuff with me. All that really mattered ultimately was my relationship with the Lord, my relationship with family and friends. If it weren’t for the loss of my health, I could have wasted the rest of my life chasing achievements and acquiring more transitory things.”

Is that what it’s going to take?  Then bring it on Lord.  Or is it just possible that right now, beginning today, we can begin becoming the kind of rich people God likes?  I pray it’s so.