“Using Wealth Wrongly”
[James 5:1-6]
March 24, 2019, Second Reformed Church
A couple of weeks ago I picked up two medium sized packages of toilet paper for the church and put them in the study room with other supplies. After church that Sunday, I noticed that one of the packages of toilet paper was gone. Now, the paper towels and toilet paper are locked up.
We do not love our neighbor as ourselves when we steal from them – when we commit theft – when we swindle them. We steal when we are greedy and when we waste the blessings that God has given us. We commit theft when we do not do everything we are able and gifted to do to help our neighbor – especially those within the church. (Cf. The Heidelberg Catechism, https://www.rca.org/resources/heidelberg-catechism-ten-commandments)
God says, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15, ESV).
We understand this commandment because we have all stolen. We have taken things that do not belong to us. We have taken Costco before it was offered. We have pocketed things from the Women’s Association sale tables. We have not worked diligently at our jobs and the calls that God has put on our lives. We have tried to keep our employees’ pay as low as possible. We have taken credit for other people’s work. We have resented others who work diligently and give much to charity. We have said that God is a liar and has not given us everything we need for this day.
Specifically, this morning, let’s look at wealth and how not to use it, and how to use it.
Here are some statistics to think about: in 2017, the average American had an income of $57,000 a year. That’s work income, pension, social security, any other benefits – all added together. And 95% of Americans had an income between $30,000 and $105,000. (https://wallethacks.com/average-median-income-in-america/).
The average income on the planet – which includes the US figures – is $10,000 US dollars a year (https://news.gallup.com/poll/166211/worldwide-median-household-income-000.aspx).
That makes me – and you – very, very wealthy – as far as base income is concerned.
How do you decide what to do with your wealth? Are you using it to glorify God or are you using it to sin?
We live in a time when there is strong criticism of those who make the most money in the US and questions of what tax should be imposed upon them. And we may wonder if being wealthy is a good thing.
James tells us, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:16-17, ESV).
And we pray, believing that what we need we receive from God’s Hand, “give us this day our daily bread.”
God created everything, God gives us what we need for each day and more so we can steward wisely all that He has given us.
The proverb writer, Agur, prays, “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:7-9, ESV).
The Scripture tells us there are hard things about being poor, but it is extremely hard to be wealthy.
And our text this morning, from James, the brother of Jesus, addresses four ways of using wealth wrongly.
First, we use wealth wrongly when we lay up treasure for ourselves.
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.”
James is not saying it is wrong to be wealthy if God has blessed you in that way. And when James talks about laying up treasure in the last days, he is talking about the individual’s last days, not the return of Christ.
So, is James saying it is wrong to have a 401K or a long-term care policy? That is not the point James is making here. He is saying it is a wrong use of wealth to pile up wealth for yourself to the exclusion of love of neighbor.
For example, Jesus says:
“And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:15-21, ESV).
Jesus doesn’t say this man was wrong in being wealthy, but he used his wealth wrongly, hoarding it up for a future he would never have and to the detriment of his relationship with God.
As Jesus says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21, ESV).
We use wealth wrongly when we lay up treasure for ourselves.
Second, we use wealth wrongly when we fraudulently hold back wages.
“Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.”
There were people who wanted their fields mowed, and they hired someone and set a price they were willing to pay – and they had the money – and then, when it came time to pay, they withheld payment altogether or gave less than they agreed to.
I hope you haven’t ever done that. Once you agree to a price for a job, you have to stick with it – even if it isn’t on paper.
There were two weddings I presided at where the couple gave me a significantly smaller check than we had agreed to – and it wasn’t that they didn’t have the money – so now I say I have to have payment before the ceremony. Trevor has played gigs and when he went to collect the agreed upon fee, and they gave him less for one reason or another. Holding back the agreed upon wages is theft.
God says, on the Day of Judgment, “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:5, ESV).
Paul says – in the oft-misquoted verse, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (I Timothy 6:10, ESV).
Again, Paul writes, “For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages” (I Timothy 5:18, ESV).
We use our wealth wrongly when we fraudulently hold back wages.
Third, we use our wealth wrongly when we live a life of self-indulgence.
“You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.”
For some wealthy people, there is absolutely no restraint – like Scrooge McDuck – who would “swim” in his vault of money every night. People for whom every night is a different party – a different feast – a different drug – a different sexual partner – a total haze of a life funded by wealth – supposedly happiness.
Do we remember the “prodigal son” who went to his father and effectively said, “Dad, let’s pretend you’re dead, and give me my inheritance.” And the son took the inheritance and partied all the money away until there was no money left – learning the hard way that everybody loves a party they don’t have to pay for.
When our life and time is all about us – that is self-indulgence of the wealth of time that God has given us. If we never have time for others – especially those in the church – we are using wealth wrongly.
We use our wealth wrongly when we live a life of self-indulgence.
Fourth, we use wealth wrongly when we don’t help the suffering.
“You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.”
If God has gifted you to meet the need of someone who is suffering, especially in the church, you ought to do it.
Peter speaks of the spiritual gifts we have received when he writes, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (I Peter 4:10-11, ESV).
One of the spiritual gifts is generosity. Another is mercy. Another is compassion.
If we have the wealth to help, and it is a righteous cause, ought we not help?
“Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:30-37, ESV).
The priest and the Levite did not want to become ceremonially unclean, but it would have been better if they looked upon the man and saw the Image of God and used their wealth to see to his injuries.
We use our wealth wrongly when we don’t care for those who are suffering.
We are the wealthiest people on planet earth! We are not to steal, but use our wealth rightly. How do we do that?
Be thankful to God for what He gives you for each day.
Paul tells us that God gives us what we need for the day and more so we can share out of our abundance! “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28, ESV).
Therefore, let us use our wealth in a way that glorifies God – let us use our wealth to show Who God is by doing all that we do so others would see that Jesus is God the Savior.
Our monthly lunch is prepared in thanks to Jesus for the bounty He has given us. It is not a trick or a ploy to get people into the church. It is not a means to save us from starving. My doctor certainly knows I am not starving – how about your’s?
Let’s give as much as we can – to the church and to other worthwhile causes and to meet people’s needs. Give your money, give your time, give your talent – we weren’t given it to hoard away.
Consider two passages of Jesus speaking:
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (Matthew 10:16-25, ESV).
Be wise with your wealth, but innocent! If you are, you will suffer to the glory of God and be known as the servant of your Master.
Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:25-34, ESV).
Be thankful for the wealth you have received, and don’t worry, God will give you exactly what you need to be His each day. Seek the kingdom – desire to grow in faith and obedience. Seek to know God in His Word and – in joyful thanksgiving – obey Him.
Why should we steal when, in Christ, we have inherited all of Creation?
Let us pray:
Almighty God, it is easy for us to steal, because we think we deserve better and we are afraid of losing what we have. May the Holy Spirit cause us to trust that our Father will always give us what we need for the day, and may He keep us from being anxious and fretting. Rather, may He open new wells of generosity in living wisely and innocently and sharing that great bounty You have given us beyond what we need for this day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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