James 5:1-6 - Return of/on your Investment

Do you know what you don’t know? I’m convinced that living in the information age has compelled people to act as if they know what they truly don’t know.

There is a leadership theory that teaches people find themselves in one of 4 quadrants on any given subject and knowing what quadrant a person is in shapes the type of leadership they require.

The red square indicates people who don’t know what they don’t know so they must be directed.

The orange square indicates people who don’t know what they know and must be coached to draw out their abilities.

The yellow square indicated people who know what they know. These individual are capable and willing, so their greatest need from leaders is support.

Finally, the green quadrant depicts people who know what they don’t know. A leader can delegate responsibility to this person knowing that he or she will seek help when over his/her head or out of his/her element.

I think our 43rd President was a Green quadrant leader. While his opponents relentlessly jabbed at him for what he did not know, He wisely surrounded himself with others who had expertise in his deficiencies.

When it comes to cooking beef, I’m in one quadrant. When it comes to eating beef, I’m in another quadrant. When it comes to buying beef, I’m in a third quadrant. But when it comes to raising beef, I readily admit I’m in the red square!

What do all these squares have to do with James 5? The Holy Spirit inspired James to write to those who are in the yellow Square regarding financial wealth. But he is instructing them that God knows there are some truths that they don’t know.

There are too many people who only have experience on the red/orange side of wealth, who think they know what should be done by those on the yellow/green side. Today’s text reminds me that God is just to deal with those whose experience is very different from mine and that I may be avoiding some painful miseries by staying in my own sandbox.

Transition: Back in 1:2 we were told that our trials are a cause for joy. Now in 5:1 he warns that riches are a precursor to miseries. By the end of the sermon, I hope you will find peace and contentment right where God has sovereignly placed you.

A Caution of Miseries (James 5:1)

Come Now

Today’s paragraph begins with the same 2 words of the last paragraph that spoke about those who want to deny God’s deity. This is an idiom in James’ language that basically means “listen up!” or “now hear this”. It is a cue that “this is going to be on the final”

Chuck Swindoll writes:

In 4:13, he addressed those who spent their days as if God weren’t their Lord. In 5:1, he addresses those who spend their money as if He weren’t their Master[i]

3. The brotherly tone that was so prevalent in earlier chapters is gone. These are stark words of warning.

Miseries that are coming

There are provisions in the language James wrote to say “the miseries that may come upon you” but that is not what he writes! He uses the present participle which means they are already in the process of coming.

Weep and howl impress upon me that this is much more than just a “make sure your car windows are up” kind of a warning.

Transition: This is a stark warning because serious changes are coming.

The Corrosion of Earthly Wealth (James 5:2-3)

The wealth (2-3b)

1. Rot, destruction and corrosion are not the path toward increasing your investment.

2. This should not come as any surprise because Jesus had already said:

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV:2016

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I once heard a story that was intended to express how heaven’s riches are beyond measure. It was a story about a rich man who was near death. He grieved because he had worked so hard and wanted to carry his riches with him.

The rich man pleaded with God and was allowed by God to bring whatever he could fit in his casket. Overjoyed, he instructed that from his waist down he was to be packed in gold bars. Upon arrival at heaven, he was checking in and was told by Peter to climb out of the coffin. He insisted that he couldn’t get out by himself. When the lower half of the lid was lifted to see what restrained the man, Peter exclaimed, “You brought pavement?!”

3. Ronald Blue, of Dallas Theological Seminary, writes:

As metals lose their luster, the poison of greed eats up people. The corrosion of wealth is testimony to this sickness of the wealthy. Hoarding for the last days only gives more fuel for the fire that will consume the lost.[ii]

The wealthy (3c)

This has tones of Abraham and Isaac walking up the mountain and Abraham sadly stating, “God will provide for Himself the sacrifice.”

Bible experts see this phrase and v.5 as a reference to Jeremiah 12:3 where the slaughterers become the slaughtered on the day of slaughter.

D.A Carson writes in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament:

while the rich are fattening themselves, they are like cattle awaiting the day of slaughter; the…day of judgment could break in at any time, and their self-indulgence and total unconcern for others will end in slaughter.[iii]

4. Verse 3 reminds me of the tribe of cannibals who invited the missionary to be guest of honor at a soup boil.

Transition: Not only do the wealthy and their wealth corrode, but others are impacted as well

The Corruption of Earthly Wealth (James 5:4-6)

Wealth Defrauds others (James 5:4, Luke 16:19-24)

1. Leviticus 19:13 clearly instructs daily wages for day laborers.

I can’t tell you how many benevolence requests I have heard over the years that start with “I get paid on Friday, but I need help with gas or groceries until then.” Those living on abundance have trouble understanding those who live check to check. And those who live check to check sometimes forget those who need cash to get back to work tomorrow.

2. James 5:4 speaks to those who are commanded to do one thing, but intentionally delay. The cries of the oppressed that are ignored by the rich are heard by a compassionate and just God.

3. When James says that the cries have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.is clearly drawing upon Jesus illustration in Luke 16. Many believe this is more than just a parable because Jesus gives a name to one of the characters.

Luke 16:19–24 ESV:2016

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

4. A person who cheats and defrauds other without remorse has a unique misery in store.

Wealth Deludes the Rich (James 5:5)

This word for self-indulgence only appears in the New Testament 2 times; here and 1 Timothy 5:6

In 1 Timothy 5 the context is family members who do not have any compassion on their own family members in need.

We talked about this type of apathy last week, identifying it as sin. Proverbs 3, James 4:17 and now James 5:5 warn of being so self-absorbed that a person convinces himself that he is not accountable for the suffering of anyone else.

Wealth Damages the Righteous (James 5:6)

If the sin of 5:5 is apathy, the action of 5:6 is pathetic!

This points right back to 2:6 that describes believers being dragged into court.

When (not if) this happens, the believer experiences joy (1:2) because the trial is not the end!

The righteous person does not resist because he trusts God to bring about ultimate righteousness. If you have trouble letting go of injustice, go back and re-read Genesis 37-50 about the life of Joseph.

Conclusion:

5:1 and 5:4 shape my view of God which enlightens my understanding of this whole paragraph.

My Big Idea of this sermon is, “God settles all accounts justly & graciously.” James 1 is true because God is sovereign. James 5 is true because life is more than this material world.

Those who trust purely in a physical collect and consume mindset eventually find it is what the writer of Ecclesiastes calls vanity. Those who place faith in God’s grace are adopted and seated in heavenly places, although it is undeserved.

The High Definition Commentary on James puts it like this:

Think of it like this: Our whole life is one giant investment opportunity. We constantly face choices about how we’ll choose to invest our lives. Will it be in our job? Our awards and recognition? Our dream vacations? Our 401(k) accounts? James challenges us to consider how our investments will pay off in God’s eyes. What return will these investments have on our relationship with him? James’ answer is pretty shocking. In the end, investing in earthly riches is a waste. Why? They don’t last—and they don’t have eternal value.[iv]

I’ve been doing Nursing Home services for over 45 years. I’ve learned that residents like to pick the songs we sing and when I ask them to pick their favorites, 9 times out of 10 we will sing #553. I think it is because Rest Home residents usually come to terms with what can be accomplished in this life, and what will happen in the life to come.

With that understanding in mind, let’s confess our faith as we stand and sing.

Song of Response #553.. “Sweet By and By”

[i] Swindoll, Charles R. 2014. Insights on James, 1 & 2 Peter. Vol. 13. Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentar. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. [ii] Blue, J. Ronald. 1985. “James.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, 2:832. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [iii] Carson, D. A. 2007. “James.” In Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, 1011. Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos. [iv] Runge, Steven E. 2015. High Definition Commentary: James. High Definition Commentary Series. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.