Scripture: James 5:1-11
As an introduction to today’s 9th lesson from the writings of
James, I would like us to consider the destructive power that resides within 3
related words – 1) envy (the impulsive desire to have something that you
don’t have, but which someone else does), 2) arrogance (pride that fills
us over all that we have gained), and 3) slander (that which drives us
to condemn and hate and harm others who have more than we have). And these words are all based in one thing –
the desire and pride that comes from putting the wealth and glory of earth ahead
of all that God is prepared to bring to our lives.
In 1Timothy 6:9-11, we read these
words - 9 Those who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for
money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs. 11 But
you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. It
would seem that the ways of earth stand in direct contradiction to the word of
God!
As with most of the epistles that we find in the New Testament,
these are words meant to encourage and focus anyone, and everyone, who may read
them, and to see them not only as words of condemnation and judgment, but as words
of blessing. And as we begin
consideration of our lesson from James, it will become even more evident that
the temptations that evil brings cascading down upon the people of this world
haven’t changed much in the past 2,000 years, and aren’t going to deviate one
iota until the glorious Day of our Lord Jesus’ return.
Read James 5:1-6
James, it seems, isn’t bashful about putting the wealthy of this
world on notice, encouraging them to acknowledge their sorrow over the evil
ways that they have been living now, and not to wait until it is too late to do
anything about them! The point that he
is making is that even when you use your worldly resources for good, it isn’t nearly as
important as to how you gained them in the first place! I’m not suggesting that helping the poor and
the disadvantaged isn’t a good thing, but rather that we should evaluate our
life’s efforts to see if we caused any individual poverty and needs to begin
with!
So what is the issue behind all of these problems that James
lists? It’s about a corrupted
heart! It’s about a heart that is
focused on the claims and agendas that the world tells us should be our
priorities! It’s about our putting the
easy, but evil way, of the devil first in this life, and ignoring all that we
have learned from the way of Jesus!
Satan’s desire for our lives is to accept his teaching, that we
have not only the authority to “feather our own nest” with whatever
means at our disposal, but the responsibility to do it!
And what does the LORD tell us?
In Hosea 10:13, we read “… you have planted wickedness, you
have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you
have depended on your own strength …”
And in 1 Timothy 6:17, we are told “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor
to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in
God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
Our “hope
in God” is the only true, eternal, and fulfilling resource that we will ever find.
Read James 5:7-9
The other issue with the ways of earth is that
they have ingrained us with the concept of immediacy and the need for instant
gratification! We see that in news
reporting, we see it in “fast food”, we see it in pleasurable relationships,
and the old saying “take it slow and easy” has become an anathema to
us. And yet, our God is not a God of
quick and thoughtless solutions. It isn’t that the LORD has to think about what
He’s doing – it's just that His plan was established long before the days of creation, and
they will never change. He
just wants to give us time to catch up and follow His lead.
The reason that we are called to a life in
“patience” is so we can think about, and learn about, and grow into God’s grace
and mercy! Godly ways will never be a
matter of second nature for any of us – they are something that we have to come
to grips with, and strive to appreciate and understand.
Faith in Jesus Christ enables us to gain the
power and blessing of the Holy Spirit, who is constantly reminding us of, and
nudging us toward, the grace, the glory, the hope of our Almighty God. And his call to remain patient and firm is
meant to be encouragement for those times when the forces of evil pile up and
come against all that we know to be true.
And without Godly patience, without a firmness of faith in our hearts,
we will, most assuredly, fall to the Tempter’s lies, and that will only lead to
a word of Judgment that no one will ever be able to “live” with!
Read James 5:10-11
Whenever I hear about “patience in the face of
suffering”, I’m reminded of the prophet Elijah, who at least in one instance
had a bit of up and down trust in God.
Remember the time when he took that stand against the 450 priests of
Baal and the 400 priests of Asherah, and proved the power of God over the
failure of the false gods?
He had seen what his God could, and would, do,
but when Queen Jezebel threatened him with death and destruction, he ran away,
and tried to hide in a cave on Mount Horeb.
But even there, the LORD came to him - not in
mighty ways, but in a gentle whisper.
The prophet once again gained courage and faith to be the man who God
had created him to be. (1Kings18:16 - 1Kings 19:18)
Even while in the grip of fear and flight, Elijah’s faith allowed
him to be led to the mountain where God would reassure and strengthen His
prophet for the tasks that still remained ahead of him.
James also mentions the trial of Job – a man who was described as
“blameless and upright; [who] feared God and shunned evil” (Job1:1) Even when the flood gates that
held evil back from Job were thrown open, there was never a word or thought of
distrust within the man. There would be
times when he wondered what had caused him all this grief and pain, but blame
would never cross his lips. And in the
last 5 chapters of the book that carries his name, Job would receive his LORD’s
blessing and praise for the faithfulness that had sustained him throughout the
ordeal.
Were both Elijah and Job patient?
Did they wait upon the time of God?
And in their waiting, did faith through all that God had done for them
in their lives, sustain them and give them hope for a better day? Yes, yes, and yes again. And these same questions will be ours one
day. But the only unknown will be in
what the LORD’s answer will be in response to these, our
questions of life and faith. Will it be
His great and resounding “Yes”, or will it be far less encouraging for us?
Oppression, persecution, suffering, pain and trial are the only
certainties that will come our way from the realm of earth. But all who believe and trust in the hope of
Christ will have the strength to endure all that the world can ever throw at
us, IF we are patient and perseverant in the glorious promise of God. The temptations of Satan will always be right
around the corner of our days, but so will the word and way of our Almighty
God, if we, by faith, stay focused in the One who left His throne in glory to
come to this place, to suffer on our behalf and to become our salvation.
Trust, Obey, Rejoice in all things, and let Him work to bring about
an eternal life of divine glory and presence for each of us, simply because we
remained faithful and patient for Him, throughout the rest of our life.
May it be so for us all!
