Ep. 116 | Warning to the Rich | James

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring James 5:1-6. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

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Welcome to Formed by the Word. Many people have a faith that works well on Sunday but struggles on Monday. The book of James was written to bridge that gap. This letter speaks directly to real life, our struggles, our relationships, our speech, our priorities, and our response to difficult circumstances. Over the next several weeks, we'll be walking through James, a practical and challenging letter often called the Proverbs of the New Testament. James doesn't just teach us what to believe, he shows us how genuine faith works in everyday life. James calls believers to a faith that is visible, active, and genuine. A faith that doesn't merely hear God's word but puts it into practice. As we journey through this powerful book together, my prayer is that God would shape us into people whose faith is seen not only in what we say, but in how we live. After all, faith is more than words. It's a life that is being formed by the truth of God's word.

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When I was a teenager, I remember reading James chapter 5 and thinking, well, I guess God must not like rich people. After all, James starts off this fifth chapter sounding incredibly harsh. He starts off, come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. You see why as a teenager that bothered me just a little bit. Well, for years I assumed the problem that James was addressing was money, but after studying scripture and maturing a little bit more carefully, I realized that James isn't condemning wealth. He's condemning what wealth has done to these people. Here in chapter five, James suddenly sounds like an Old Testament prophet. He's no longer comforting believers. He's announcing judgment. Why? What has him stirred up? Well, James is burdened because of wealthy landowners, landowners who were exploiting the poor. The wealthy landowners had become guilty of three things. They trusted in their own wealth, they lived selfishly, and they exploited other people. Now, let me be clear, wealth is not inherently evil. Men like Abraham, Job, David, and Solomon, just to name a few, were very wealthy men, and yet they were never condemned for being rich. James argues here not against wealth, but against economic injustice, against consumerism and systems that exploit labor and poor people. So in our text today, James offers three stern warnings in regard to wealth. Now I know that you're probably thinking, but Pastor Eddie, we don't need to hear this. I'm not wealthy. Oh my friend, listen, we just don't realize how wealthy we are here in our blessed country. We are indeed wealthy and we do need to hear what he has to say. The warnings from James come in the form of dangerous forms of wealth. The first thing he mentions is in verses one through three, James talks about wealth that is hoarded. Here's what he writes, chapter five, verse one. Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth is rotted, and your clothes are moth eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. Well, I told you it got rather harsh. James warns his readers here that their wealth is rotted, their garments are moth eaten, and their gold is corroded, and this is not very encouraging to them. Now, obviously, gold doesn't literally rust, but James is painting an important and a vivid picture. His point is that they have accumulated far more than they needed, with no concern at all for others who lack daily necessities. James was in the crowd when Jesus taught on earthly treasures. He's no doubt recalling the teaching of Jesus on this very subject, even as he's writing these things. He surely recalled Jesus warning his followers in Matthew's gospel, do not store up treasures on the earth. You remember that, Matthew chapter 6. In Luke chapter 12, Luke tells us that Jesus also taught along these lines in the parable of the rich fool. Chapter 12, beginning with verse 16, here's what Jesus said. He said, A rich man's land was very productive. He thought to himself, What should I do? Since I don't have anywhere to store my crops. I will do this, he said. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I'll say to myself, You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. But God said to him, You fool, this very night your life is demanded of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be then? That's how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. What was Jesus' point? The sad point of this story is that as the farmer's barns got bigger, his heart got smaller. You know, that's so often the case for humanity, isn't it? As our purses get bigger, as our possessions get bigger, as our bank accounts get bigger, our hearts often get smaller. So this leads me to ask myself a question. What am I accumulating that God intended me to distribute? That's a convicting question for me. So problem number one, wealth that is hoarded. Next, James talks about wealth that exploits. Verse four, James writes, Look, the pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of armies. So now we get to the heart of the passage. James is dealing with the poor who are being exploited. Again, it's not the problem of wealth, it's that the poor are being exploited. Notice James mentions the unpaid wages, the abuse of the workers, the cries of the harvesters. But even in the midst of this atrocity, we see something beautiful because James adds, the cries have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. Wow, the grace in that. This is Exodus language here. You remember how God heard Israel's cries in Egypt and how God heard that their workers have been exploited and they were in slavery. And as God hears, he leads Moses to come and lead them out of Egypt. Now God hears the cry of these exploited workers. God hears, God sees, God remembers, and God acts. That's incredibly comforting to suffering believers today. Now we must be aware when our hearts yearn for riches to the point that profits become more valuable than people, we're in a dangerous place. Whether you're an employer, a business owner, a manager, or maybe even a customer, or even simply a satisfied tipper, we must be careful to honor people and not exploit them for our own good, for our own profit. We all have opportunities to either honor people or exploit people. Third, James talks about what to me is without a doubt the biggest danger wealth that lives without fault of eternity. Listen to verses five and six. James says, You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourself. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous who does not resist you. Now, this is where James gets quite graphic. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. That's an unforgettable image, right? I think what he's saying, the cow enjoys another day of eating, not realizing that they will be slaughtered tomorrow. James is saying that these wealthy people lived out their lives with no awareness of the coming judgment, with no awareness of their future, no awareness of eternity. They assumed prosperity meant security, but it didn't. Luxury can lull us to sleep spiritually. Comfort is not the same as God's approval. I think we miss that if we're not careful today. Just because we're comfortable doesn't mean that God is approving where we are right now. Don't miss the progression in this paragraph. The wealthy landowners loved their possessions, so they ignored people and they forgot God. Sadly, when possessions become first on our priority list, people become expendable and God becomes unnecessary. So it's a powerful passage. Let's try to make some application here before we close. I think I'll do it in the form of some questions to ponder. First question might be this Is my money serving God or replacing him? That's one to really think about, isn't it? Here's another one. Am I generous? Not do I give to the poor occasionally, but am I generous? There's a difference in giving and being generous. Do I treat workers fairly? Do I value people more than possessions? Am I laying up treasures on earth or in heaven? Well, those are some good questions to ask. I'm going to borrow an old adage for today's takeaway. I I know it's old and you've heard it, and it's but it's okay. It's a good takeaway, I think. And here's the adage. Money is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. Don't forget that. God entrusts wealth to us not merely for our comfort and enjoyment, but for his purposes. The problem isn't having money, it's allowing money to have you. So let me offer a closing thought. Think about Jesus. Jesus was rich, yet became poor, so that we might become rich in him. Second Corinthians 8 9. Unlike these rich landowners, Jesus used his riches for others. He didn't exploit people, he served people. He didn't exploit people, he died for people. He didn't cling to his privileges, he laid them down and took upon him the form of a servant. He laid them down in order to pick up a cross. May we be more like him every day. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this stern and yet needful word from James today. Forgive us, Lord, for putting our earthly treasures before you. May we never long for possessions more than we love people. And of course, Lord, we long to love you with all our hearts, with all our strength, with all our mind. Amen and amen.

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Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the Scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.