More Important Than Riches

"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 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. 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 innocent men, who were not opposing you." James 5:1-6

If God doesn't have a problem with riches, then why does He sound to upset in this portion of Scripture?

God gets excited about people who know how to handle riches correctly. They understand:

1) Righteousness is more important than riches.

2) Relationship is more important than riches.

Apparently, these Christians James is writing to had forgotten these truths. Or, at least some of them had. Their actions and attitudes were downright sinful. They were disgracing their God, their faith, their church and themselves.

They had succumbed to the temptation of trusting in their wealth more than trusting in God. As a result they were hoarding their money and riches instead of helping the less fortunate or giving to the Lord or honoring their obligations to their employees. In an effort to protect their wealth, these rich people had become miserly and miserable. Rather than investing their money in God's purposes and God's people they were spending it on personal pleasure and possessions and tempting to gain power over God's people.

What this portion of Scripture proves and what these people illustrate is that when your cash on hand exceeds your character the result is usually corruption. When you love your money more than you love your Master, you are on a road to ruin.

God is committed to the development of your character and He knows how much wealth you can handle without it corrupting your character. Being the God of unlimited resources and unlimited grace He would delight in being able to pour out abundant material blessings on His people. But His generosity toward you is limited only by the capacity of your character to handle wealth without it corrupting you.

If you are spiritually weak or lack maturity and if your character is still being developed you may be as wealthy as God can trust you to be right now. Draw closer to Him. Cleanse your hands and purify your heart. When God has your heart then He can trust your wallet. His desire is to pour blessings on you so He can pour blessings through you. He wants you to be a pipeline not a reservoir.

The condemnation on these believers was that they had become stagnant reservoirs rather than pipelines of blessing.

How would you characterize your attitude toward money and wealth? Is it the driving force in your life? As you trusting it as the source of your security? Is it more important than your relationships? Is it more important than your righteousness?

August 16, 2018

"You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!" James 5:8-9

Of all the virtues that are in short supply these days, patience must be near the top of the list. Who among us couldn't stand to be a little more patient? I see you raising your hand! Well, at least you are not like this guy:

A man in Los Angeles, California was arrested for negligent discharge of a weapon after shooting his toilet bowl five times with a 38 caliber handgun. He claims that he just got upset. He couldn’t take it any longer. His daughter had flushed a hairbrush earlier in the day and clogged the pipes. So he shot the offending toilet. I have no word on the toilet’s condition, but the man’s patience was long gone.

To protect your toilet or your cat or whatever else becomes the target of your impatience, I am sharing some insights from James 5 to help you develop in this vital area.

In the last post I pointed out how James encouraged you to Look Up And Be Courageous.

Today, he counsels you to Look In And Become Clean.

This insight is based on verses 8-9. Take a look with me.

Just be honest with yourself. Impatience and all the negative thoughts, attitudes and actions that come with it do not issue from a heart that is pure. So, your impatience is evidence that there needs to be some heart cleansing done. The guy in California didn't blast his toilet because he had an attack of maturity.

So, the intensely practical James deals with some solutions for the impatience problem. You must deal with it from the insight out.

V. 8 - "be patient" - the cure for impatience is to consciously and intentionally choose to act patient. Don't pick up the gun to shoot your toilet. Instead, pick up the plunger or pick up the phone to call a plumber. Those are the actions of a mature person concerned about practicing patience. Patience, like everything else in life, is mastered one decision at a time by the grace of God.

Think about the options. You can wait (impatiently) until you somehow manage to FEEL patient or you can choose to DO something patient. And, if you prove to yourself that you can do it once, then you know you can do it again!

V. 8 - "stand firm" - do you know what one of the hardest things is for impatient people to do? To stand still! James says stand firm! How do you stand firm? Find something firm and then stand there! What is more firm than your faith in God and His Word. In the context of this verse Paul is saying, "stand on the firm promise of Christ's return!" Know that He is in control. Know that your struggles and your suffering are not forever.

V. 9 - "Don't grumble against each other" - one of the things impatient people do is grumble. If you want to master impatience get a grip on your grumbling. Ever notice how impatient people are not only impatient with themselves they are impatient with others, too? James says to deal with that! You can stop yourself from grumbling and when you do you have dealt a blow against impatience.

How about this? While you are standing firm on the precious promises of God, why not rejoice that your Christian brothers also have the same promises!

In his counsel for dealing with impatience, James says, "Look inside and cleanse yourself from the causes of impatience." Memorize the promises of God. Believe in those promises. Cling to them! And when you know them and when you REALLY believe them it will help you with impatience because it is as though have already happened! When you wait ON God you wait WITH God!

Practice patience patiently while God removes the impatience through the power of His presence and His promises!

August 15, 2018

"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." James 5:7-8

My mother always told me, "Good things come in small packages." I always wondered if she said that because she is pretty tiny.

But in her case and in reference to the Book of James that we have been studying, it IS true.

In just five brief chapters James hits on some issues crucial to being an effective Christian and building a healthy church. I found it particularly timely for where FredWes is in the Summer of 2010.

One of the persistent themes of James is how to respond during suffering and struggles. Perhaps that was because these believers were facing both on a daily basis. Because they took a stand for their Christian faith they were targeted for abuse and discrimination. Even some within in the church were cheating them - as we just learned in the previous verses.

So, how should Christians respond in the face of suffering?

James offers four pieces of helpful advice here in the middle portion of Chapter 5.

The first thing he tells you is: Look Up And Be Courageous!

V. 7 says, "be patient". The word for "patience" is "makrothumeo". It literally means to wait! Wait with steadfastness. Wait with certainty. This is the same thought the Psalmist expressed when admonished "be still and know that I am God".

This is the same mindset you have when you hold on to your old clunker of a car for one more year knowing that at that time you will be able to trade it on a shiny new one!

The reason you can be patient and wait calmly and courageously is because you are certain of God's return. You live with certainty that one day He will return and all will be made right OR you will go to be will Him and suffering and strife will be over!

Another mindset you can develop to help you wait with patience is to understand that just like there are seasons in nature, there are seasons in life. Seasons come and go and change and it happens every year so you adjust and find things to enjoy about each season while you await the next one.

When life gets tough and you are struggling - LOOK UP! You can live courageously knowing that suffering is only for a season! You can be patient. You can be passionate. You can rest on His promises! You can live with purpose and power knowing that God has it all under control!

August 14, 2018

"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 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. 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 innocent men, who were not opposing you." James 5:1-6

The venerable pastor, teacher, writer and seminary president, Charles Swindoll, identifies four types of rich and poor people.

First, there are those who are poor WITHOUT and poor WITHIN.

This could be the largest group of people in the world. I have looked into their hopeless eyes in remote villages in Africa. Children, young people, and adults so shackled by poverty they dare not dream or allow themselves the luxury of expectations. Life is so difficult for them that every day is a struggle as they wonder if it might be their last. The desperation they face as they fight to survive until the next uncertain day is surpassed only by the emptiness within. Far too many of these precious people live in futility and die in fear.

Second, there are those are rich WITHOUT and rich WITHIN.

Perhaps this is the smallest group of people in the world. These folks have attained a high level of financial and material success and the wealth that comes with it. All of their needs are met, their bills are paid and their future is assured. Their greatest challenge is protecting and growing their wealth. Because of their success and security they are able to lend assistance to others in need. Their motivations to help others comes from the spiritual joy they have found through their faith in Jesus Christ. Money is important to them but not paramount. Their wealth doesn't dictate or define their lives because they live by the truth of God's Word. It would please God if all of His children could live like this!

Third, there are those who are poor WITHOUT and rich WITHIN.

Another large group of people are those who have discovered the incomparable riches of God's grace in Christ Jesus. They are heirs of faith and joint-heirs with Jesus of all that belongs to the Father. But the resources they have on earth are very meager in comparison to the riches laid up in Heaven. Due to lack of opportunity or extenuating circumstances beyond their control, they struggle to make ends meet and every day is difficult. But, their worldly difficulties are made bearable by the personal presence of Jesus Who gives them peace and Who promises to "supply all their needs according to His riches in glory".

The final group is those who are rich Without but poor WITHIN.

This is the particular category of people James is addressing in this portion of Scripture. He deals harshly with them because of the trouble inflicted on others because of their greed. They used their material wealth to oppress others and to increase their personal power and control. Here is a short list of the indictments against people who fit in this category:

• They hoarded their riches while others around them were hurting
• They refused to help others despite their ability to do so. What they couldn't get by honest means they acquired dishonestly.
• They padded their bank accounts by withholding wages due their workers. Those who were toiling to gain their wealth were not being given their just wages.
• They focused all their time, talents and energy to gain and grow their wealth and no regard for their eternal spiritual condition.

Because of their miserable spiritual state they are never able to enjoy the material advantages they enjoy.

As usual, Swindoll sums up the central truths of this passage. Everyone who lives and breathes fits in one of these four categories.

Which one fits you?

Is this where you need to be?

Is this where God wants you?

What must you do?

August 13, 2018

"Now listen, you rich people," James 5:1

When James addresses "you rich people" it sounds like he assumes they know who they are.

That raises the question, "How do you define 'rich'?"

Are you rich?

Obviously, he was immediately addressing those who possessed material wealth. He was measuring wealth by their bottom line or their net worth.

But is that the best measure of wealth? I think James would say, "No!" He clearly states that material wealth corrodes and can corrupt the who holds it.

The real issue with material possessions is, "Do you own them or do they own you?"

One of the points James is attempting to communicate that it is not wrong to own material wealth but it IS a big problem when wealth owns you! You can have a huge net worth but be poor toward God. Spiritual poverty will rob you of the joy of properly benefiting from your fortune. Your stuff will own you and hold you captive. You will be riddled with guilt, greed, anxiety, insecurity, distrust, and worry. Your personal identity and self-image will be defined by what owns you - or Who owns you. Jesus told a story about a guy who did that and called him a "fool".

Is that how you want your life to be defined? Do you want your life to be measured by what you hoard or by who you help? As the old saying goes, "You can't take it with you." BUT you can send it ahead!

As you invest your time and your talents and your treasure in helping others and serving God, Jesus said you, "lay up treasures in heaven". That sounds good to me!

The road to riches begins here, according to Jesus, "Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:1-12

"Blessed" means "happy" or "complete" or "fulfilled".

Aren't those the things you really want from wealth?

So, who is it in the final analysis who determines who is rich? Your bottom line? Your net worth? Or your relationship with God? Is it what you are storing up or is it what you are laying up?

August 12, 2018

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." Psalm 119:9-16

If I have not yet made the case for the truth and reliability of God's Word, let me try one more time.

First, let's review. The evidence we have presented to this point:

1) Fulfilled Prophecies - every prophecy concerning Jesus was fulfilled completely.

2) Historical Accuracy - if measured by the same standards as other commonly accepted ancient documents, the Bible would fare well.

3) Miraculous Preservation - for ages the Scriptures have been under attack by kings, emperors, and czars. These tyrants have tried to destroy copies if the Bible, killed the people who printed them, and arrested those who possessed them. Still, the Scriptures not only survived, but remain a number one best-seller!

4) Unity of Structure - The Bible was written over 1,500 years by 40 different writers in three different languages on three continents and yet there is a single theme - the redeeming love of God!

5) The Influence for Good - It can easily be documented that everywhere the Bible has been honored and taught, the social climate and culture have been superior to non-biblical cultures. That has been true throughout biblical history. No other sacred writing has impacted history to a greater extent than the Bible.

So, faith in the Bible is well-founded. However, there is one more convincing and powerful proof for the veracity of the Word. What is it? It is the proof of a changed life!

When someone begins to study and believe and live by Biblical truths, that life changes dramatically. People who used to be hateful, suddenly become loving. Why? The power of the Word? People who once were very selfish, suddenly begin devoting their lives to serve others. Why? The power of the Word. The Word of God has transforming power!

How can you see that power in your life?

Love the Word

Is the Word of God a controlling passion in your life? Do you love it more than life itself? Light the Psalmist, you should delight in His Word. When you do it will transform your heart and mind.

Learn the Word

The Psalmist hid God's Word in his heart. That takes time and effort and study. Read it. Memorize it. When you do it will transform your heart and mind.

Lean on the Word

What do you depend on when you have to make a tough decision? Where do go to find strength during a difficult time? When you need encouragement, where do you go to find it? Jesus leaned on the Word - even though He WAS the Word! When you lean on the Word you will find it transforms your life.

Live the Word

If you are a believer in Christ and a lover of the Word, I am guessing that you chose that way because of a significant person in your life who lived out the Word. For me it was a man named Ralph Westafer. He lived out the Word so well and with such passion that it was hard NOT to believe in the Word. I'll bet you know someone like that.

Will you commit to become someone like that?

August 11, 2018

"I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against God" Psalm 119:11

Americans like the “bottom line” so let’s get to the bottom line for this verse. 

How does that sound?

This little verse with a big message is, in fact, the answer to an important question posed in verse nine, “How can a young man keep his way pure?”

So, the bottom line is that everything we have studied so far only matters if you are interested in living a pure and holy life. Others need not apply.

David, the Psalmist declares that the reason he hides the Word of God in his heart is because he doesn’t want to sin against God. If sin doesn’t bother you the Word won’t matter that much.

Logically, if staying pure and holy in all your thoughts and actions is important to you then you will meditate and memorize the Word of God. Therefore, if you are not meditating or memorizing the Word of God it would indicate a lack of interest in holy living.

If you have filed your Bible in the “inspiration reading” section of your mind or if you keep it on hand as a reference book you are not that concerned about sin. Very, very dangerous!

Here in this last half of the verse, are contained two very important truths about sin. Before we wrap our consideration of this verse allow me to point them out.

First, he says that sin is a choice – “that I might not sin”

One of the main blessings of salvation in Christ is it can free you from the power of sin. You no longer have to live as a slave to it. The main message of the Cross is Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for your sins that you can be free!

Every sin is preceded by a thought. If you entertain that thought it becomes a temptation and when you dwell on that temptation it usually leads to sin. So, before you sin you have to run a couple of red lights. You sin because you choose to. For someone who claims to be a Christian, that is exceedingly dangerous.

Think about it. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness He had to rely on quoting the Scriptures He had hidden in His heart. If Jesus Who WAS the Word had to rely on the Word to resist sin, what makes you think you can ignore your meditation and memorization?

Second, he says that sin has a consequence – “against God”

When you sin it is against God. When you choose to sin you choose against God. When you refuse to humble yourself to the Word to meditate on it and memorize it you are choosing against God’s wisdom and truth.

I am not sure you want to do that. You probably don’t want to do that. You certainly shouldn’t do that!

You also sin against yourself in that your sin breaks your fellowship with God AND you are the one who will have to live with the consequences of your sin.

Sin complicates your life. Sin alienates you from God. Sin has consequences that you can choose to avoid. Why wouldn’t you? You can choose purity from sin or you can suffer the penalty of sin. It is all dependent on what you do with God’s Word.

That’s the bottom line.