{"id":6319,"date":"2015-04-06T03:46:31","date_gmt":"2015-04-06T03:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6319"},"modified":"2016-09-04T01:54:31","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T01:54:31","slug":"james-51-3-a-word-to-the-rich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6319","title":{"rendered":"James 5:1-3\u2014A word to the rich"},"content":{"rendered":"

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. \u00a0<\/sup>Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!<\/em> James 5:1-3<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

James begins the fifth chapter of his letter with a scathing directive to the rich. Matthew Henry\u2019s commentary suggests that\u00a0he primarily wrote this section to address the rich among the Jews who had not yet received Jesus. This opinion is based upon verse 6: \u201cYou have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.<\/em>\u201d Mr. Henry explained that under the governance at the time, Christians\u2014including the rich ones\u2014had no jurisdiction to put anyone to death. Nonetheless, James\u2019 comments are a valid reminder for all of us to view our resources through the eyes of the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

The book of Psalms has many references to the wealthy wicked. Psalm 73 sorrowfully laments the arrogant debauchery of evil men who obtain power and wealth: \u201cBehold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth”\u00a0<\/em>(vs. 12).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>However, Psalm 37:7b declares, \u201cDo not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes<\/em>\u201d and verse 9 assures, “For evildoers will be cut off but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.<\/em>” Throughout the Scriptures, we are warned of the inevitable temptations for those who are \u201clarge and in charge\u201d\u2014arrogance, haughtiness, utter disregard for the lives of those who are less fortunate, and flagrant nose-thumbing at God.<\/span><\/p>\n

The question remains: How much of this portion of James’ admonition actually applies to Christians? Is this a section of the New Testament about which we can breathe a sigh of relief? Whew! This doesn\u2019t apply to me!<\/em><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Paul the apostle wrote concerning the amassing of wealth and how to approach it. He stated in Philippians 4:11b-13, \u201cI have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.<\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You approach wealth the same way you approach poverty\u2014you live in contentment through Christ who strengthens you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul wrote in his first letter to Timothy, \u201cIf we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs<\/em>\u201d (1 Timothy 6:8-10).<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of Paul\u2019s writings contain a certain word\u2014\u201ccontent\u201d. Contentment with what God has supplied for you goes a long way to help keep your motives in check. A sense of discontent can surely drive an individual to find better and more satisfying employment\u2014\u201cA worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on\u201d<\/em> (Proverbs 16:26)\u2014a good thing; but if allowed, discontentment can quickly morph into lust for more, more, more. \u201cThe leech has two daughters, \u2018Give,\u2019 \u2018Give\u2019<\/em> (Proverbs 30:15a).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026his freedom required that he let go of his treasure; he chose treasure over freedom.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paul warned the Church that the desire to get rich can lead to temptation and a snare, complete with many foolish and harmful desires. It\u2019s not your job to judge anyone else concerning this; it is<\/em> your job to keep a grasp on what\u2019s going on inside your own<\/em> heart about money. Guard your heart concerning your resources; let the Lord direct you in giving, buying, selling, and saving; and don\u2019t be like the monkey who was easily captured: he couldn\u2019t pull his paw out of a jar without first releasing the peanut he had in his fist\u2014his freedom required that he let go of his treasure; he chose treasure over freedom. Paul wrote that such choices plunge men into ruin and destruction; <\/em>he also wrote that “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Strong words flowed from the pen of Paul\u2014not to the unbelieving, but to the household of faith. Therefore, when James<\/em> writes such a forceful sentiment to the rich, it pays to take notice. Perhaps the third verse not only sums up his thought here, but also gives a standard by which to discern your own motives: “It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!<\/em>” The question then, to ask yourself is: What is my treasure, and where am I storing it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/span><\/p>\n

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.<\/em> 1 Timothy 6:17-19<\/span><\/p>\n

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.<\/em> Matthew 6:20-21<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. \u00a0Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-5"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6319"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6330,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319\/revisions\/6330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}