James series – “The Litmus Test for life”

James 5:1-6

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. 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. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

James says that the first example of greedy pride is:

1. Hoarding Treasures – Vs 1-3:

James starts this part of the passage in the same way that he started the last lesson, back in verse 13. He says, “Look here” he’s basically saying, “Listen up because this is important.” Now, here’s what’s really odd about this particular passage. He says, “I want you rich people to listen up.” Remember way back when we started our study in James, we learned that James was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem. As a pastor, he was a public speaker and while speaking styles have changed over the years, certain key principles haven’t. One of those being that for a speaker to be effective, he has to know his audience. Do you remember who James’ audience was? Well, the whole reason he was writing this letter was because a large part of his congregation was no longer attending his church because they had been scattered by persecution. It started with the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7, and Saul’s persecution of the church in Acts 8. As a result, the Saints scattered. But James was still their pastor and as their pastor, he cared enough to write this letter to them to caution them about their attitude toward assets. But did he all of a sudden forget who his audience was here? Why in the world would he start this passage by saying, “Listen here you rich people?” How would you respond if I had started my message this morning saying, “All of you rich people need to listen to me this morning.” Most of you would automatically tuned me out, thinking “He’s not talking to me.” After all, what is the classic definition of a rich person? Somebody who’s got more than me. Many people who we would see as being rich don’t see themselves that way. Why? Because somebody else they know always has more. Our tendency is to see this passage in relationship to riches in our community or even our country, but rarely do we based our wealth by the worlds standards. The worldwide median per-capita household income is just under $3000 where the US federal poverty level for one person is just over $12000. Our poverty level is three times higher than the world. The person in the bottom 5% of the American income distribution is still richer than 68 percent of the world’s inhabitants. Compared to the world most Americans are wealthy. So why would James address these poor scattered Christians as rich? These people who had lost their homes, jobs and savings as a result of persecution? To make a powerful point, that no matter how much or how little you have, you can still harbor greedy pride. As a matter of fact, I know poor people who obsess more about money than well off people. But to these people that we would consider dirt poor, James says, “Your wealth is rotting away. Your gold and silver are corroded.” Why? Because even though they didn’t have much, they greedily hoarded what little they did have. When it comes to money it’s has more to do with attitude than the amount. Verse 3 says they heaped their treasure together for the last days. Does this mean that we shouldn’t save for the future? No. What it means is that we shouldn’t selfishly pile up our money. There is a difference between saving and hoarding and it has to do with what we are saving for? What are you investing for? Are you saving and investing as a way to bring honor and glory to God? Or are you saving and investing as a way to bring comfort and ease to yourself? Are your purposes self-centered or Savior centered? Are they based on a life of ease and comfort or serving Christ? Are you saving to serve self or the Savior? That’s the difference. James is getting at the motive behind the money. Because if we are not careful we will put our trust in earthly treasures instead of eternal truth.  Saving and investing in order to feed your feel good, so you can live a comfortably complacent life is hoarding not honoring. Instead of using wealth to live a worthy life and witness for Jesus we live a wasted life. In John Piper’s book, “Don’t Waste Your Life” he recalls a story he read in Reader’s Digest about: “A couple took early retirement from their jobs when they were in their 50’s. They moved to Florida, so they could cruise on their 30-foot boat, play softball and collect shells.” Then he goes on to say, “Picture that couple standing before Christ at the great Day of Judgment, saying, ‘Look, Lord—See my shells.’” What a tragedy. What a wasted life. Or as James puts it, “Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you, this corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment.” How do you plan on honoring God with the money you’ve saved? Or are you just heaping together corroded, rotten, moth eaten rusty riches? When we do we make life about self instead of serving. The issue has to do with what you are banking on and where you are banking, are you investing in earthly treasures or eternal truths?