What have you done with your Riches?
James 5:1-6 (NRSV) 1 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
We are coming now to the end of the Epistle of James, and in these verses he speaks of what happens when we store up our treasures without thinking of others. James is probably not speaking to the believers, but instead to the Jewish unbelievers. The actual blessing of people having wealth is not so that the individual can live in luxury, but so the person who has money and belongings can help others.
James is not condemning those who have money, but he is making the point that what we have accumulated in this life will ultimately do us no good. But when we share with others who are less fortunate, then and only then will our wealth become a blessing for us and for those we help.
Our country has become more and more separated, and much of the conflict centers on the great divide that wealth, or lack thereof, can create. The Scriptures do not condemn the rich unless they have no concern for the poor, or worse yet, have tried to take advantage of the poor.
This past week a synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA was invaded by one man who hates the Jewish people, and as a result of his hatred eleven people died. Did you that when Jews began to migrate to America, many did well economically because they were different than other immigrants. These early immigrants who were Irish and the Polish never intended to stay and make a life on these shores. They were here to make money, send it back home, and then eventually they would return to their homeland. As a result, many did not learn the language nor did they try to assimilate into our society.
For the Jews, America was the last stop. They learned the language, tried to fit into American culture as much as they were allowed. They worked hard and ultimately opened their own storefronts and became successful. Still, they were resented and the anti-semitism continues to this day.
For those people who hate people simply because of their heritage, may I tell you that none of us is pure-bred anything. Take a 23 & Me test and you will see just what a mixed breed you are. Until we understand that each of us is a Child of God, we will be doomed to continue in hatred and discord until Jesus returns again. All I can say is, Come Lord Jesus, Come. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, we ask for Peace and Healing for the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania. May each of us be instruments of your peace, and may we be generous to those who look to us for jobs, for security, and, yes, even for those who need a helping hand and can offer nothing to us in return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
…the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise…
James 4:13 – 5:1 (NRSV) 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” 14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.
How many of you have heard the expression, “we’ll be there tomorrow, the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”? When I read this verse about not knowing what tomorrow will bring, I immediately think of this old saying. Some attribute these words to Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian agent. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. In his response, he was said to write, “God willing and the Creek (Indians) don’t rise.”
I know when I heard my father utter these words he was not referring to Native Americans. He was saying that unless something occurred that could not be prevented, he would do what he said.
I am a planner. I have lists for occasions such as Thanksgiving and I want a calendar near me so that I can schedule events. Even with care, I sometimes double schedule. But when I say I have something planned for tomorrow, or next week, or next month, I never consider my planning to be boasting. Yet James says we are boasting and being arrogant if we claim to know what will happen tomorrow.
Earlier this week we hit a deer. Thankfully, God spared us but my Preachermobile (Subaru Outback) was totaled. I had planned to keep this 2011 car for the remainder of my life. But in an instant my plans became nothing more than mist. Of course, Larry has plans to have my totaled car rebuilt. We’ll see.
For now, I think I will follow James’ advice to do the right thing, if we know what it is. And guess what? If we read the Bible faithfully, we will know the right thing. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, help us to look to you for our plans, and when circumstances change, may we be willing to change with them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Judge Not
James 4:11-17 (NRSV) Warning against Judging Another
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
Today’s scripture begins with the familiar strains of James’ warning us about speaking evil against others. James goes even further in these verses and says when we speak evil against others we are judging them. Why do we have to be warned against judging others? Shouldn’t we know within our hearts that judging others is wrong?
I believe we do know that talking against others is wrong. Perhaps we feel empowered if we can make others view a person as less than they are. Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves if we can bring someone else lower. Yet, we continue to defy God’s instructions, which, if we would take the time to pay attention, are for our good as well as those around us.
Do you know that judging others almost always begins with gossip, spreading rumors that may or may not be true. It is so easy for Christians to fall into gossip, because in the church it is often disguised as “prayer chains.” God forbid that we turn our prayer requests into a gossip session.
So what is the answer? For quite some time, I have prayed John Wesley’s “Three Simple Rules,” which are to (1) Do no harm, (2) Do good, (3) and Keep the ordinances of the Church. Doing harm to someone else is most often a deliberate choice, so if I begin my day by purposing that I will not harm anyone, then I must be intentional about my efforts. When I decide I will do good, I must look for ways to help others. And when I choose to keep the ordinances of the church, I will pray, read my Bible and perform acts of mercy toward other people. When I engage in these activities during the course of my day, I have no time to harm others.
Let us become so intentional in our discipleship that if we even think of uttering an unkind word or spreading a bit of gossip, the Holy Spirit will so convict us that we would have to ask forgiveness of both Him and the person harmed immediately. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Father God, you know our hearts. Today we pray that you will soften our hearts so that only love lives there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Humble Yourselves before the Lord
James 4:1-10 (NRSV) 1 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? 2 You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Do any of us ever spend even 24 hours absent of conflict? Even if we live alone, we still experience conflict within our own hearts and minds. Do we want pasta for dinner or grilled chicken, do we want dessert or not, do we want to watch TV or read a book? We may consider these things to be mere choices rather than conflict, but may I tell you that choices can become conflict. James warns against murder, covetousness and adultery, all rooted in making the choice to turn away from God and toward the world.
Most of us will say, wait, I haven’t committed adultery, I haven’t murdered anyone. Are you sure? James 4 says we are adulterers if we choose the world over God. And guess what? God says the same thing! I have often taught about the 4 S’s. Israel sinned, then they were taken into slavery, then they supplicated (prayed earnestly) for deliverance, and finally God sent a savior. Almost every instance of the people rebelling against God involved idolotry, and when God’s people choose to worship anyone or anything above God, they (we) are committing adultery.
Murder follows the same reasoning. Did you know you can murder someone’s relationship, or their reputation? You don’t need a gun or a knife, the tongue works well for purposes of destruction.
Why would we, the people God created and called His own, continually seek other gods? Because of pride, the basest of all sins, that causes us to exchange self-satisfaction over our own achievements for the pleasure we could receive from allowing God to be preeminent in our lives.
The last three verses provide the key to building a relationship with God. (1) Submit to God (2) Resist the devil (3) Draw near to God (4) Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts (5) Humble yourselves and he will exalt you.
We are over half-way through James. People generally either love this letter or hate it. I call it the Guidebook for the Practical Issues of this Life. Have you been able to see how this letter can strengthen your faith? It is all about allowing the discipline we should develop as Christ followers to enable us to make the right choices. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, we love you and are so thankful that we are learning what it means to be humble before you. We pray that you strengthen us and enable us to follow your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Faith without Works is INDEED Dead
James 2:14-26 (NRSV) 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
When I first began working at Shelters and Soup Kitchens, I knew intuitively that before I could share the Bread of Life with a lost soul, I first needed to feed that person’s body. It felt somehow disingenuous to assure someone that God would supply all of his/her needs according to God’s riches in glory, but yet walk away, leaving the person to wonder, “What’s wrong with me? I’m hungry, I’m cold, I’m without love. Why won’t God supply MY needs?”
And then I look at the letter from James, and I see that bread, and fish, and wine do not just materialize on a table. Instead, God uses Christ followers to put our faith into action and make sure people around us do not do without. God will supply our needs, but many times it is through people like you and me.
I remember reading of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and was somewhat startled to learn that Wesley did not begin his ministries because of his faith. Instead, when talking with his brother Charles one day he said, “How will I know when I have done enough?” Charles said, “Enough for what?” John answered, “enough to know I have gained salvation.”
You see, John had opened schools, pharmacies, helped people earn a living so that they could leave the Poor Houses of England, yet his motivation was to gain salvation through his works. It was only after his Aldersgate experience on May 21, 1738 that he says, “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” From that moment on, John Wesley ministered in the same manner he had all along, but instead of serving and preaching to gain his own salvation, he did these things because of his salvation.
The battle over James’ statement, “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead,” did not end when James was thrown from the Temple Mount and then stoned to death because the fall did not kill him. No, the battle still rages today. It is not unusual for those who choose to put their Christian faith to work to be accused of trying to work their way to heaven.
James reminded his readers of the great people of faith found in Hebrews 11. These men and women had not yet seen Jesus, yet because of their faith that the Messiah would come, and their works that were performed as a result of that faith, they were justified by God and welcomed into His Kingdom.
Do you sometimes struggle with your faith? Do you realize that you are not alone? Can I tell you that when you put your faith to work, then your faith will grow larger and larger. Does the work you do replace the faith you have been given? Never. Instead, our work reflects the God who works within us to fulfill His good purpose. Philippians 2:13 the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, as we read this good Word, I pray that you will not only strengthen and grow our faith, but that you will help us to put our hands and feet to work so that the people around us with know, believe and understand that God loves them and will supply their needs. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Seeking Holiness 