Missio Me – Dissatisfaction Guaranteed

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Money on my mind

James 5:1-6

Do you ever think that material things might sometimes be too important to you? Do you ever become concerned that money or your longing for success might hinder your relationship with God? Pastor James of the 1st Church of Jerusalem was certainly concerned about this. He wrote about the dangers of money in language stronger than we usually hear in church. But, I've become convinced that we need to listen carefully to his words. I think his warning is at least as important for us as it was for people in his day. So, listen to how fervently James talks about money and possessions in James 5:1-6.

A Clarification
Let me begin by making it clear that, in writing so strongly, James was not saying that wealth is in and of itself evil. He's not saying that anybody who makes money is going to hell. In last week's text, James 4:13-17, remember that James spoke about making money but refused to seize on that phrase "make money" and say that making money is wrong or immoral. So what is going on here when James says, for the second time, "Now listen..."? I see his message as a warning – a very strong warning that he insists we heed.

What Is the Warning?
As always, James doesn't mince words as he writes. He's adamant, astonishingly so, about how material things can take control over our human hearts. His warning is that possessions can capture our desires and lead us to do things that are almost unimaginable. It's easy for us to adopt a lifestyle that drives our lives and tempts us to do things our consciences would otherwise never even entertain. The longing for money can change our behavior, can cause us to adjust value systems, and can consume our thinking. Possessions have the power to possess the possessor!
And James' warning doesn't just apply to those who have lots of money but also to those who constantly dream of having more who get themselves into terrible debt by charging things to feed a longed-for lifestyle. Do you recognize how powerful the allure of material things can be? So, here is the issue that has been on my heart this past week: How can we know when money is becoming a spiritual problem? From James words, I see several warning signs. We are in our series, "Examining our Ways." How can you know when money is gaining a foothold in your life?

#1. You find yourself always thinking you need more.
You have hoarded wealth in the last days (5:3b).
The phrase "hoarded wealth" is very important. James is drawing a verbal picture of a person who is constantly accumulating vast amounts of things. In the wardrobe, you'll find hundreds of suits or dresses, many pairs of shoes. Many are hardly worn at all. In the bank, you'll find lots of money that's never being put to any significant purpose. James refers in v.3 to the coins becoming tarnished because they sit unused for so long. This person just wants more and more. This trait is the surest indication of greed. There is an insightful song, the #1 song in the UK and much of Europe right now, written by Sam Smith after he had signed a big recording contract. He insists that he does music for the love of it and that he doesn't have "Money on My Mind"" (the song title). He keeps singing that money isn't important to him, that heaven is – but he keeps echoing "money on my mind..." Smith is communicating artistically the same truth that James teaches in our text.
Most people think Pastor James was actually writing to church people here. If so, we had been pay close attention. It seems that it's possible to be a church person and still worship possessions. And, you can begin to see this in your life when the ruling lord of your life is that there is something you simply must have. And, I think James is on target when he indicates that once we have power and possessions, we are easily deceived by their allure into constantly dissatisfied way of life. Some people celebrate when they make their first million. But then, they soon discover that a million is not enough. Those with a million usually have many acquaintances who have multiple millions so they think, "If I had that much, I would be more generous and happier." Even a multi millionaire often thinks, "I need to be a billionaire.". There never seems to be any point at which we can say, "It is enough." John D. Rockefeller, once the wealthiest man in the world, was once asked, "When you have everything, what could you possibly want for Christmas." His answer, "Just a little bit more. Always just a little more."
The first indicator that wealth is entrapping you: It becomes insatiable. It's dissatisfaction guaranteed.

#2. You become oblivious to the impact that your success, your prosperity, has on others.
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty (5:4).
James speaks here of how a person's career success can lead to others being harmed by the choices a person makes in compensating employees. We all know that there is no necessary connection between being materially successful and being exploitative and unjust. But we also know how often what James wrote about actually happens. I'm quite sure Pastor James looked around him and saw in his day that the way people were running their businesses and treating those under their authority was dehumanizing. In spite of many HR laws on the books to protect workers, I'm sure this still happens in our society.
One of the reasons God gave some of the laws he did to Moses was to protect workers in Israel. In v.4, James was citing Lev 19:13 and Dt. 24. In those passages, Moses had said that it was necessary in Israel for every employer to pay his employee's wages on the day it was earned. There was to be no holding back of wages until some later payday. That was against the law in Israel's theocracy.
That kind of law may seem strange to us. But when you think about it, there is great compassion in it. This God-directed law provided help and justice for the poor. Any of you who have ever had a time when you were financially under pressure and had to find a new job understand how important that law was. When you're living a hand to mouth existence, you can't afford to wait a week or two weeks for your wages. You could be evicted from your apartment or have the heat shut off by then. Your children could starve by then. Paying wages on the day earned was and is important to the one who is poor.
Statistics tell is that, since 2007 there have been growing numbers of people in our country who have very few incoming financial resources and little or no savings. So, imagine it (if that's not true of you right now): If after being unemployed for a while, you would be told, "Well, you won't get any pay until the end of the month," you would be in trouble. The greatest difficulty you may face probably would come when you have to leave a security payment for an apartment -- and often two month's rent too -- before being allowed to move into the apartment. Do you think that's easy for the one who is poor?
It's that sort of thing that James would ask any of us who are Jesus-followers and who are involved in business to think about. I join James in asking you to consider how your decisions affect others. James was pointing out in very strong terms how "thought less" employers can damage people in the workplace. The point is this: What you do with your business may be legal. But God asks you to consider more than merely what is legal! The way you do business may be common practice and may be cost effective – but, at the same time, your decisions may hurt people. God sends his people into the marketplace and asks us to live distinctively there. If you are in the kind of position in which you have the authority to make a difference in how people are treated, then use that authority not just to make money but also to bring blessing to those affected by your decisions.
I'm sure there are many ways to do this. Be sure of this: God notices what happens to people because of our decisions. The wages you fail to pay the workmen are crying out against you (v.4). And James made this point even more forcefully in v.6: You have condemned and murdered the innocent one. You may think James is going a bit overboard there and say, "Just because a man makes decisions that may hurt the poor, that doesn't make him a murderer, does it?" I'll only say this – that I'm sure James knew of people in his church whose lives were being harmed because of the uncaring practices of their bosses or masters.
And, although we live in a very different legal system in our democracy, still, often we see similar effects. When I apply James' message to us, I must at least say this: When you and I are blessed with positions that give us a voice in making decisions that affect the lives of others, we must have God's heart and eyes for those who are in distress. When you see yourself thinking little about how your decisions affect the poor, you should beware. God sends his people to all sorts of areas of employment and asks us to make a positive difference in the lives of those our decisions affect.

3. You will cease to be productive and live mostly for pleasure.
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence (5:5a).
I've preached several times over the years about how in Genesis, when we meet God, we see him at work. The Bible indicates that a part of being made in God's image is our ability to be productive in our work. Unfortunately, when people become affluent, our society often encourages that person to stop working! I know that sometimes, successful people become workaholics and make work their god. That surely is not how the one true God wants us to live. Work is a terrible taskmaster. But at other times something else happens that James says we should beware of. Successful people can become lazy and self indulgent and just live on what others are accomplishing.
It's clear that James had observed that some successful men had developed a monopoly control of the land. That meant that people who had no land were forced to serve as laborers on the landowners' estates. Because the pool of labor was large, wages could be kept low. One oft unnoticed problem with this was that the landowner often didn't have to do any work himself on the land. In fact, some didn't have to do any work at all. The owner could employ laborers to mow his fields, harvest his crops and even manage the laborers. The more successful he became, the more the owner could choose to live in idle luxury. He could spend his day playing a little golf, drinking a little gin, sailing the yacht... But his life, a stewardship given by God, was not producing anything of lasting value.
This kind of living is empty in the eyes of God. Listen carefully: The Bible nowhere suggests that it's wrong when one person is wealthier than another. But God speaks against wealth being used as an excuse for not making a contribution to the world. When you are among those in the world who are blessed financially, you become a steward of that blessing. You must use your time and wealth and lives in ways that bring honor to God and help to others. Remember the 4th command: If you are to enjoy rest fully on Sunday, then you must obey the rest of the command: Six days you shall labor... If you have so much money that you don't have to labor six days a week, then you have the ability to thank God for that and ask, "How should I use the time, Lord, that you have made available to me in service to you and to people?"
This is something many Christians in America must think about – including recent retirees. Life is a gift. Christians should ask, "How can I be productive in ways that honor God today? The question God would have us ask 6 of every 7 days of our lives is not just, "How can I relax and enjoy myself?" We should ask, "How might my life be used today to show my love for you God and to love my neighbor as myself?" These are, after all, the two great commandments according to Jesus. James is calling us to live in the light of them.

Putting these three points together, I hope you begin to see the enormous wisdom found in James' hard words in 5:1-6. Are they saying anything to you today? James is giving important warnings how the love of money can grip your heart. I'm glad to tell you today that there have been and still are successful people who are also people guided by God's heart for people and by God's values. It's also clear to me that James himself found it hard even to imagine that kind of person. Still, I find some practical advice implied in his letter for those who have resources. There are 3 things to remember:

#1: Remember that wealth perishes. Your gold and silver are corroded in v.3. That's ironic, isn't it? One point often made about gold and silver is that they don't rust at least, not in the atmosphere of earth. But, James says, they most certainly rust in the atmosphere of heaven. And, make note of this too: The exchange rate for the dollar in the bank of heaven is 0. The satisfaction that material things can offer is very limited and temporary. Remember that truth each day and wealth may not enslave you.

#2: Remember to think of how your work and wealth impact people. This is so important that I've added this point for a 2nd time in this sermon. God calls you to remember how what you do affects your family, your associates, and your employees. As I pointed out last week, the word "remember" is of great importance in the Bible. When you remember someone, you let that remembrance affect your actions. Remember...
The treasure of heaven consists of people. People don't rust because people, all people, are made in God's image. People are made for eternity. Temporary things can be used to benefit people and people last. People are the currency that can't devalue though wealth will always perish. Remember that and your wealth will be used for blessing instead of hoarded for self indulgence.

#3: Remember that God's judgment is coming. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Yes, that's how the Bible refers to the world we live in now. A part of what that means is that these days we live in and our materialistic values will come to an end. The Eternal Judge, i.e., God himself, is standing at each of our doors. Each one of us must be ready to give account for how we live each day and how we use what God has entrusted to us. God will ask, "What do you bring to show how you have used your life?"
James adds soberly in v.6, "Could it be that those you have hurt and ignored and destroyed will stand on that last day as your prosecuting council?" That's why the whole discussion begins with, Weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. God will judge us for the lives we have led – for things like covetousness, self indulgence, and lack of compassion. We need to remember because I'm afraid that in the American church, materialism is often cloaked in an aura of acceptability. Jesus as clearly forbids laying up treasure on earth as he does murder, stealing and adultery.
Let me say as your Senior Pastor that I am so encouraged by the growing commitments to generous living and faithful service that I am seeing in our church family. I've seen many of our children make sacrificial personal gifts and pledges to our Maple Street Children's Center project. I've watched as families having given days together to work on behalf of the homeless with Door of Hope. I've heard stories of compassionate and sacrificial giving to meet needs in our church. I know of many who visit widows and prisoners. It's encouraging and I pray the movement of God make grow among us.
But, I think we are as vulnerable to materialism as James' people were. Do you agree? So, we must listen carefully to his words and let God use them in our hearts today. So let me leave you with a poem my son showed me this week. It's one I'm sure James would have loved:

Incomplete Renunciation
Please let me have
a 10-room house adjacent to campus;
6 bdrooms, 2 1/2 baths, formal
dining room, frplace, family room,
screened porch, 2-car garage.
Well maintained.
And let it pass
through the eye of a needle.

- Marilyn Nelson Waniek

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor