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.

Not only do hoarding treasures and defrauding measures reveal a heart poisoned by greedy pride but lastly, we see the third example of greedy pride in

• Indulging Pleasures – Vs 5-6

Does God want us to live like monks without any possessions or pleasures? Does He want us to live without nice things? No. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t really have much to do with the things in our lives. It really has to do with our attitude toward the things in our lives. Its here in verse 5 that James reveals and deals with our attitude towards assets. James paints a painful picture of what happens when we live for pleasure instead of living to please the Lord. The picture that he paints is of a beef cow filling its face in a feedlot. Why do we put cows in a feedlot, to limit their exercise and feed them so that they get nice and fat. While fat in cows makes for tasty meat it makes for lousy living in Christians. Remember the story of the couple in Piper’s book? The problem wasn’t that they retired and moved to Florida. The problem wasn’t that they bought a nice boat. The problem wasn’t even that they played softball and collected seashells. The problem was that that had become their entire life. It was their whole reason for living. What is your reason for living? Is it to honor and glorify God? Or is it some other pitiful indulgence. What do you spend your time indulging in? Is it in service to God and others or in service to self? Have you made the goal worry free comfort or worshiping Christ with your wealth? Many of us have replaced witnessing with wantonness. We have made the goal getting instead of giving God the glory. We squander treasure when we invest it in earthly pleasures instead of eternal purposes. Instead of touching people with the truth of God’s Word we live for the things of this world. Ironically as Will Rogers once said: “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.” So let me ask you are you feeding your flesh or your faith? How are you nourishing your heart? Is it with worship and God’s Word or with worldly desires? Are you living for pleasure or to please the Lord? Pride can manifest itself in many different ways. Sometimes it shows itself in our selfishness, when we war and fight to get our way and what we want. Or when we elevate our selfish desires above God’s desire. Sometimes pride shows itself in our presumptive planning when we arrogantly pursue our personal plans above God’s as if we are the ones in control. Pride is not only at the heart of all sin, it is the essence of sin because it is the ultimate rebellion against God. Pride, whether it’s selfish pride, presumptive pride or greedy pride is telling God, I don’t need you. Its trusting in self to sustain instead of the Savior. It’s a slap in the face of a loving Father who longs to care for you. So, if pride is such a part of everything we as sinful people do then how do we get rid of it? The only way deal with it is to put it to death. This is more than just acknowledging pride its choosing to starve sin by refusing to make room for it and not feeding it. It means living for God the Father not the flesh. The only way to die to pride is to have the One who died for you alive within you, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Christ is the only cure, but this is more than just trusting Him for salvation, it is surrendering to His supremacy.  Today we want Him to redeem our lives but not to rule them. So instead of Jesus being in control we let pride take His place. All things can become new for you today if you place your trust in Him. It’s time to put your selfish pride, presumptive pride and your greedy pride to death by nailing them to the cross. It’s time to take yourself off the throne of your life and give the rule and reign to Jesus. When you do old things pass away and all things, not somethings, become new.