A Warning to the Rich/When Rust Speaks

Illustration:

As a child, every year at Christmas, probably like many of you, my family would get in the holiday spirit by watching movies. Unlike the streaming sources available today, we used to have to watch commercials and advertisements. I’ve actually had to explain what that meant to my children; they think I mean like what you click on to buy in an app. No, I mean with jingles, for you to see, and when it becomes the ‘it Christmas gift,’ you then bug your parents for because now all the cool kids will have it. Anyway, like games, if you wanted to avoid them, you have to buy the movie, like a purchased game, rather than the free app that are really just vehicles that turn you into the product for companies to sell a forum for advertisers to have access to you!

Anyway, my family owned a small VHS library, the kind you had to rewind afterward if you weren’t some kind of degenerate. One of my very favorites, and if it was my turn to pick, no matter how many times it had already been watched, I would always choose “The Muppets Christmas Carol.” The year was 1992, and I was 5. It was the extent of child-friendly horror available and the perfect mixture of entertainment and warning a parent could get. I see what they did there!

At that age, I didn’t know that there was a book or screenplay, only that Gonzo narrated Charles Dickens with the assistance of Rizzo the Rat. Michael Caine played Ebenezer Scrooge, and Muppets took the rest of the parts, including Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit, Robin the Frog as Tiny Tim, and Fozzie Bear as Fozziwig.

The moral being that Scrooge, the man who famously says ‘humbug,’ because the only thing more foolish than saying ‘Merry Christmas,’ is ‘falling in love,’ was only concerned with gaining wealth for himself—at the expense of his employees, his relationships, and anyone else who could benefit from kindness.

Connection:

As I studied over our Scripture for today, I couldn’t help but think of Michael Caine’s character, old Scrooge, particularly after his visit with the third spirit. “I am standing in the presence of the ‘Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come?’” he would say, “And you’re going to show me the shadows of things that have not yet happened but will happen? Spirit of the Future, I fear you more than any specter I have met tonight! But even in my fear, I must say that I am too old! I cannot change! I cannot! It’s not that I’m impenitent, it’s just... Wouldn’t it be better if I just went home to bed?”

The apparition, without words, takes him about his village, this time absent of the color and warmth of the other two spirits, finally pointing him to a grave. “Before I draw nearer to that stone,” Scrooge says to the insistent yet quiet-grim reaper-looking spirit. “Tell me! Are these the shadows of things that must be, or are they the shadows of things that might be?”

Intro: Today, in James chapter 5, we read about the results of chapter 4, which, to summarize, says in verses 1-3,

1“ What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Imperative 1 (5:1) – Come (purpose is to reprove; 4:13)

In the opening verse, where we begin our passage this morning, in James Chapter 5, we see James repeat the same 2 words he used at the beginning of the last paragraph in chapter 4:13. “Come now.” There, he spoke about those who want to deny God’s deity, trusting themselves for provision, for giving their lives meaning and purpose. Not denying His existence necessarily, but effectively, through their denial of God’s super-intension, acting as if God were some far-off or distant being, something we only contend with upon our death. James does this on purpose—he’s obviously drawing a parallel. He’s saying that he’s really saying the same thing as in verses 1-3 in chapter 4, just now revealing that you, rich people,are these people.

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

Transition:

So you might, at first glance, come to the conclusion that James doesn’t appear to be addressing church members—which is ultimately who this epistle was written to, so perhaps this isn’t really judgment; maybe it’s encouragement to those who have been wronged by the people he’s addressing. Now, this isn’t so narrowly applicable that it simply means that we can brush by it. If we want the blessing inside our Scriptures, we’ve got to contend with them, right?

I believe this passage itself is rich, purposely ironic, filled with double meaning, and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and instruction towards righteousness (2 Tim 3:16b)! When we get to pointing our fingers, what are we told? That we’ve got three pointed right back at us!

Scripture/Interpretation:

So, James says in verse 1, “1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.” Now that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Jesus says in Luke 6:24, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” So, while the poor can take some comfort in that God knows their hardship, James is pronouncing divine judgment on the rich that they can’t escape from. They have their share of misery awaiting them.

Explanation:

What can I say? God is good. He’s generally willing to give you what you want! If you want His spirit, He’s faithful. If you want autonomy and freedom from the plan he has for you, He’ll give you that, too… So, if you put your trust in Benjamin Franklins, relying on yourself for provision, meaning, and purpose. While you may not be denying God’s existence, you are acting as if God is something you only have to contend with upon your death. So, that’s what James is saying. Jesus said it, too; you will contend indeed.

Example:

There’s nothing wrong with us having things. In fact, we find in the scriptures that one of the possible blessings from God is the blessing of material wealth, the blessing of things that God can give us. Job was a righteous man who the Bible tells us ran from evil and he had an abundance of things. God doesn’t hate the wealthy... Abraham, David, Solomon, Barnabas, Zacchaeus, and probably Matthew—All wealthy! Theophilus, the patron of Paul, to whom Luke writes both his Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles; Philemon, the owner of the slave Onesimus, on whose behalf the letter was written, addressing him as a brother in faith—both wealthy!

But Job was a wealthy man by all of the standards of that day. And some would say, “Well, yeah, he had a lot of wealth, but God took it all away. Clearly, God wasn’t for wealth.”

Well, ok, that’s true, that did happen. But the problem is you didn’t read the rest of the book. There are 42 chapters in the Book of Job. When we focus all our attention on those first two, when those are the only ones we talk about, we miss that after Job’s friends come and make accusations about him, Job rebuts them. When you reach the end, andfinally God speaks, He clarifies—I’m in control of everything! And it’s powerful. But you come to the end of Job’s life; in the last verses, Job, who had everything taken away, in chapter 42 verses 12-17, it says, the Lord blessed the latter of his life more than the beginning. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. That sounds like a lot of work. More than one man or even his family could handle. So, it doesn’t actually mention it, but mark my words, he had a lot of servants. That’s what it came down to, a lot of ranch hands.

Because it says he only had seven sons and three daughters. Now, that’s a lot, but not nearly enough for a man to operate a farm of 22,000 animals! The blessing of family was considered one of the wealthiest things that a person could have. His three daughters, he called the first Jemima, I think she went on to become a syrup mogul; anyway, there were three, and Job gave them inheritance among their brother. This was unusual; ladies didn’t tend to get inheritances, but he had enough wealth to spread it to all of his children. And after this Job lived 140 years and saw his son’s sons for four generations.

You see, material possessions and wealth are amongst the possible blessings from God. This is by no means a prosperity Gospel, but it doesn’t mean that things, in and of themselves, are bad. Praise God? In fact, by the world’s standards, every person in this room is materially wealthy—and what I’m saying is that it doesn’t mean that’s a bad thing necessarily. The problem James addresses in Chapter 5 isn’t the people who had riches. The people James addresses in Chapter 5 are the people whose riches had them.

Transition:

In 1 John 2:15, the Bible tells us, don’t love the world—they love their things. He said, “Do not love the world, or the things that are in the world. If any of them loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them.” In 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul writes, “For the love of money,” you’ve heard it said so many times, especially, I’m sorry, but if you read the King James Version, it will say that “money is the root of all evil.” Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is the root of all evil. If you pick up a later translation, that’s what you will read. That’s the key—where our love is—there our desire is also. James makes it clear that those things that they had loved so much had a shelf life.

Allusion:

This is why Jesus said it’s hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul writes in his letter to Timothy that it is the Love of money that is the root—the starting point of all kinds of evil. Jesus really breaks it down for us in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says, “24 No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” In the last sentence of that verse, in case you had any doubt, if he wasn’t clear that it’s not people or bosses being addressed, he clarifies, “You cannot serve both God and money.” Just before this, He says in verse 21, “21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Point:

So, that’s the choice we have. You can choose to skip over the verse because we’re not rich; clearly, James is talking to someone else—or you can contend with difficult Scripture. Trying on the shoe for size. Though I may not be rich, do I love money? The purpose here is to reflect and reprove oneself.

Imperative 2 (5:1b-3) – Weep (w/“howling”—repentance; 4:9)

“1b weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you.” “Weep and howl,” not “Blessed are those who mourn.” An unambiguous difference. John Calvin observes that “Repentance has indeed its weeping, but mixed with consolation, it does not proceed to howling.” Howling, or wailing as James writes, is unconsolable anguish. James is speaking of a lack of repentance. The life of luxury the rich have enjoyed is about to turn into an afterlife filled with misery and suffering.

When James wrote these words, he wrote them in a Greek tense that basically means it’s as good as already done. When he says in verse 2, “Your wealth has rotted, your garments are moth-eaten, your golden silver are corroded. He was saying that in a sense, even though maybe they were holding money there in their hands, they could stick their hands in their pockets and feel the bottom; their clothing didn’t have any holes in them—though they weren’t fading away right now, God says they’re as good as Gone. If that’s your obsession, that’s what you’re holding onto.

And that’s where the sorrow and pain comes from; it’s foreshadowing. Weeping and howling, he says, because those things that aren’t going to last. It’s a glimpse into the eyes of God and how he views the things that we so often hold dearly. Material things will pass away. They’re things that He gives us to steward over—for a time.

Transition:

In verse 3, we read, “3 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.” Earthly wealth has a purpose. To serve Him, His purposes, and His Kingdom. The message in the Parable of the Workers was that the workers were entrusted to do labor with what they were given. To whom much has been given, much will be expected. To those who were obedient, even more will be given. In the same way that the Manna left until the morning bred worms and stank during the exile, things that corrode are not the path toward increasing your investment.

Jesus also said on the mount, 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” (Matthew 6:19–20). In the words of Toby Mack, “We were made to love you and to be loved by you.” One of my mentors always said, “invest in the three things that are eternal: God, His Word, and the souls of men.”

Allusion:

So, in verse 3, James gives personification to an unlikely source. The “rust” of the things they had put their trust in. You may remember, in Luke 19, after Jesus had made his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem on the back of the colt on Palm Sunday, in verse 39, “39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. 40 And he answered…” in verse 40, saying, “…if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.”

So we know that creation testifies to the wonder of the Creator, everything fashioned for the sustainment of life and for our benefit, and it would cry out were we to cease our praise. And now, rust, too, speaks. But it’s not praise.

You see, creation testifies to its Creator’s glory. Rust wasn’t created. It’s not creation; it’s the absence of creation, in the same way that a hole isn’t a thing—it’s the absence of a thing. Rust is decay; it was a result of the fall. It was founded by and testifies about its father. In John 8:44, Jesus says, “Your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

Transition:

Again, God doesn’t hate the rich,

Whereas the purpose of the first verse was to cause reflection, the call here in verses 2 & 3 is to repent.

Imperative 3 (5:4) – Behold

But the rich here in James 5, the people we’re talking about, the lovers of money, those with ill-gotten gains, they don’t just hoard; they also cheat others out of their wealth. Look with me atverse 4, “4 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 Hosts.”

The workers were needed so that the rich man’s ripened grain did not spoil because of bad weather or become eaten by birds. Those laborers were paid a daily wage and expected to be paid at the end of the day. The law of God, given through Moses, was clear, saying both in Leviticus 9:13 & Deuteronomy 24:14-15, “not to hold back wages of a hired man overnight.” The workers prevented delays that would have cost the rich man his harvest. If their pay was delayed, it was equally harmful and certainly more immediately felt. It results in the absence of food for a worker’s family.

So now we read that the wages of the workers are crying out against the rich. Instead of the joy of the harvest season, they contend with the anger of broken promises, delays, and the prospect of not being paid at all. They cry out against the rich and demand justice.

So, not only the rust of their ill-gotten gains, but now cries of the workers are testifying against them. If the rust could speak, it’s saying, ‘I’m going to show you where your love is. It’s on things.’ It says, ‘Let me tell you a little bit about how they treated their fellow man.’

Scripture:

In verse 4, the misplaced love of things resulted in the mistreatment of people. In verse 4, we get the idea that they were willing to defraud the people who were working for them, cheating them; they would say, “Hey, come and work for me; I will pay you this much.”And so, they would come, and they would do the work, but at the end of the day, they’d say, “I’m not going to pay you the full amount,” or even worse,“I ain’t paying you at all!” defrauding them.

Comparison:

God doesn’t hate the rich. It’s a condition of the heart, and the workers can be just as guilty; this is why we’re being called to contend with challenging Scripture.

We see in Matthew 20, Jesus gives The Parable of the Workers, in verse 9 it says:

9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

It says in the last verse of our Scripture today, James 6, that these rich people would have some even persecuted in prison and sometimes killed. The ultimate level of misplaced love is when possessions take priority over God and people. The total opposite of the rich landowner in the Parable.

Allusion:

When we hold our things to a higher love than we do the people that are around us. That’s exactly what these people were doing. The truth is it’s more common than what we think.

You don’t have to look any further than Jesus’ own disciples. See, Judas was the man who was in charge of the money among the disciples. He was the treasurer. That tells me a couple things. For one, it tells me that he was trusted. But we get a glimpse of the heart of Judas just days before Christ’s crucifixion. They were in the home of Simon, the leper. And that’s such an incredible story in itself because you didn’t go to lepers’ houses unless they were cleansed. Yet, here they are, sitting in Simon’s house, and into this house comes a woman named Mary. And Mary had a reputation. She didn’t have the greatest backstory, but she came, and we’re told that she was carrying a box from Bath and Bodyworks worth 300 denarii, the modern equivalent of about $30,000. We’re told by Judas that it’s about a year’s wages. Again, compared to the ancient or even today’s average third-world country, we’re all rich; anyway, it was extremely valuable. And we’re told in Matthew chapter 26 that Mary took the perfume, anointing the feet of Jesus, wiping his feet with her hair. We see in the John 12 rendition of this story that it’s Judas who said, “Why wasn’t this ointment sold and given to the poor? The next verse clarifies for us in that “He said this not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief.”

Judas wasn’t concerned with demonstrating love for the savior. Judas wasn’t concerned with this woman pouring out her love for Jesus. Judas was concerned with skimming a little off the top for himself. He was concerned with cheating and stealing. Judas would go, as we know now, and betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Because Judas valued possessions more than people. Judas valued possessions more than God. His love of possessions took priority over his passion for Christ. God’s very clear where our love is supposed to be placed. In Matthew 22, Jesus said to them, “37 ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

As James puts it, with the rust on the stand, the testimony is clear. The love of things had consumed the lives of the rich. They didn’t just have things; the things had them. And the thought of losing it made them lose their mind. Weeping and howling at the thought of losing their stuff. Because of their love of things, they had lied, cheated, and stolen from the very people who were working their fields, providing for their livelihood!

Illustration:

I was watching a video of some of Hurricane Helene’s survivors; maybe you caught some of those. The official death toll, so far—at least 232 across 6 states; an absolute tragedy. They were interviewing some of the people who had been impacted. They were talking to one family whose house had been completely wiped out, and they were sharing about how they ran out in fear of being washed away with their house. And in several moments, gone. I mean, it was just utter destruction. And they were talking to the family, and they got around to one of the young boys and this child, it touched me because he couldn’t have been more than 8 years old, my son’s age.

And he said, “You can replace everything, but you can’t replace us.” And I thought, ‘Man, he gets it.’ I mean, do you realize he could have said, ‘My Xbox is gone, or my toys are gone—oh, my bike, or my house,’ but he said, ‘You know what I’ve realized through this?’ “He said you can replace all this stuff, but you can’t replace us.” See, that young man knew something that many in the world today don’t understand. That people and the Lord are way more important than possessions.

But sadly, the reality today is that in the greatest country on earth here in America, people are more in love with their stuff than ever. Like those in James’ day, they are consumed with their things, their possessions. They live their lives to accumulate more.

Application:

No one would admit to being willing to sell the savior for any amount of money. None of us would look at ourselves in the place of Judas and think, ‘Yeah, I probably would’ve done the same thing!’ I mean, all of us, we look at it, and we’re like, ‘Man, Judas, nobody wants to be a Judas.’ It’s in, like, the top 5 least likely Biblical names to name your child. Jezabel, Nimrod, Dorcas, Lot, Judas. Sure, there was a good Judas, too, but we’ve even changed his name a little to differentiate the two; we all call him Jude now! Nobody would say they’d sell their savior for any amount of money. That’s what we tell ourselves. But while we wouldn’t say it, why is it that we so often sell him for so much less? We sell our time for him to scroll through some social media. We sell our worship to Him for him for sports or for an extra hour of rest. We sell our faithfulness to Him when we act like Peter around others and act like we don’t even know Him. If rust could speak today. If your possessions, rather, the things that possess you could testify, what would they say? Would they tell of your willingness to put things over people? Would they attest to your willingness to put possessions over God? If you profess Christ today and if rust could speak, what would it say about your devotional life?

Transition:

Let me pause here in appreciation of our unique environment. There is punishment, and this isn’t it. But you know what? You can count yourselves lucky. I’m not saying that if you’ve been punished on earth that, it’s paid for, but Jesus certainly said if you’ve received your blessing on earth, don’t expect it in heaven. But, what I can say with confidence is that if you’re here, your sin isn’t hiding. One thing we can know for sure is that all secrets will be made known. This is a chance to repent, make restitution, or remediate in whatever form or fashion is appropriate. That will certainly remove any impending punishment. We know this because we believe that if we confess with our lips and repent in our hearts, God is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9), right?

“3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted… 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled… Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matt 6)

Malachi 3:5 reads, “I will draw near to you for judgment.” See now how this can both be a threat and encouragement? Depends on what you are on the receiving side of, I guess. “I will be a swift witness [He says] … 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.”

Summary:

Behold, the wages of the workers who worked your fields, who you’ve defrauded, are crying out against you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

They’re not heard by the rich, but they are heard by the “Lord of Saboath.”

God is called by lots of names that evoke different characteristics: Elohim, or “Strong one”; El Shaddai, meaning “God Almighty”; El Gibhor, “Mighty one”; Yahweh Nissi, “The Lord is my Banner”; Yahweh M’kaddesh, “The Lord your Sanctifier”; Yahweh Rohi, “The Lord my Shepherd.” Here, Yahweh Saboath is used, meaning “Lord of Hosts,” the heavenly hosts, which can be understood as the “Lord of the Armies in Heaven and on Earth.”

The wages that you withheld from the workers who worked your fields cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of The Lord of Armies in Heaven and on Earth. That has a certain zing to it, doesn’t it?

Illustration:

Next Saturday, not this coming one, but the following one is December 7th. It is a day that lives in infamy, a word in American history that, prior to 1941, most people probably had to look up. But in its context, today is known unequivocally in its relation to a singular event. It is said that Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, wrote of the attack to the Admiralty in Tokyo, saying, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” Any that’s just a worldly army. How much more, then, in the same way, that the cries of the harvesters have reached The Lord of Armies in Heaven! ‘Oops.’ Recall that the Greek tense in which this text is written is not suggestive of something that could or might come to pass but rather indicative of something that willhappen.

Point:

The imperative in verse 4 is to behold. In that first sentence, we see just one word, “look!” Just imagine you have a dog who made a spot on your carpet, and they’re avoiding the area completely. It knows what it did, but it’s not until you grab them and point that they know, that you know, that they know. That’s what this is, God is getting our attention. This can be good, or this can be bad. Again, God is good; He generally gives you what you want, whether that be His perspective through adopting His heart by participation in His Spirit or… you being big dog in your own life.

Reference to Illustration:

If you remember how I began, I pointed out that James isn’t addressing people who aren’t ever going to read this. He’s writing to his church. The point isn’t judgment; it’s encouragement to those who have been wronged, but it’s also asking them to pause, to behold, to reprove, and to repent for however they’re guilty of being ‘the rich.’Because if the shoe doesn’t fit, you probably aren’t trying hard enough. Where in your life does some of this ring true? If you endeavor to contend with tough Scripture, “Are you showing me the shadows of things that have not yet happened but will happen?” Scrooge pledges to start anew, crying, “Make it not so! I will make amends,” vowing that he “will make quite certain that the story ends on a note of hope, on a strong amen and he’ll thank the world and remember when he was able to begin again!”

Challenge:

What we’re being called to is to cultivate an Eternal Attitude. There are four ingredients to an eternal attitude; the first is probably said best by the great theologian Tim McGraw. Life is short. He says, “Living that way will change what you do today.” It’s like a parent’s warning to their kid. Like when you get the middle and last name whipped out. You know they mean business when that happens. It is usually in a situation where we are putting ourselves in danger, and we’re being warned. They’re protecting us. It’s correction, but it’s good, and that’s what is happening in this passage. We forget that life is short and focus on this life, not eternal life. When you live for eternity, it changes the way you live life.

Second, our purpose is God’s plan. Our purpose is his plan, not ours, ok Jonah? God’s will—WILL happen, but will you be a part of it, or will it happen in spite of you?

Your will, not mine… That’s what we need to say. We get lost in the moment, but God has a plan, and none of what is happening has surprised him. Ephesians 2:10 says, “10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Third, our possessions are not our own. God never meant for us to own anything. Look back at the creation narrative, Adam names everything, God gives animals to us for food, and he’s told to ‘steward over them.’ We’re all guilty to an extent; even homeless people have shopping carts, and, look, I’m not faulting them; they’ll freeze without protection from the elements, but we hoard. We operate out of a philosophy of scarcity rather than abundance. If we believe there is enough provision for all, we’re kind and share. If we’re the only ones that have it, or it’s limited, we’ve got to protect it, right? You show yourself to be who you really are in those moments.

We’ve not helped others when we could have. Tithing, it’s a spiritual discipline. It’s an essential act of worship. While tithing is a Jewish imperative under the law, we are a New Testament church, and we don’t live under the law anymore. But the Spirit of it is still true. Trust me, God doesn’t need your tithe; he made everything that is, seen and unseen from nothing. The blessing of tithing is for us because it breaks the curse of self-indulgence. When we bring our first fruits, or tithes, it breaks off the spirit that the enemy wants to put on us. We give, and it breaks that curse, and then we realize that we are blessed to be a blessing.

An eternal attitude wants to make a difference during our short time here. How can I be a blessing with my blessings? There are so many ways we can be a blessing to others with our blessings. So, the first ingredient is that our time is short. Second, that our purpose is God’s plan, and third, that our possessions are not our own.

The last one is that our trials are temporary. No matter what you are going through, it’s temporary. An eternal attitude says, “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). We are sojourners and strangers here, just passers-through, put here to make a difference, and then go to heaven. In a word, I’d say endurance; don’t quit. How can we do that? Because we have an eternal perspective. The Lord is coming back, soon we’re told. Obviously, the first-century church thought it would be before their death, but look, will Christ return, and will the world end before I die? I don’t know. What I do know is MY world will end at the end of my life!

In this passage, James shows us people who have been hurt, not paid wages and witnessed loved ones killed unjustly. James says to be patient. Also, to see yourself in the shoes of the wicked; you were there once. What if Christ had returned the day before you were saved? Would that change your attitude towards anyone you’re demanding justice for? Justice is not the one we want. Grace and mercy are what we want.

Living with an eternal attitude with all of the chaos around us is difficult, but God will always accomplish his will. No weapons will succeed; he didn’t say there are no weapons formed, only that they won’t succeed. Where do I need to invite God’s power to do a work in my life?

Close:

This morning, as I close, I need you to receive the most important message in our passage today. God knows our heart condition. Choose to interpret it as not applying to you, cheapen the Scriptures ‘as some old book, of what use is it today’—or accept the great blessing they behold. Contend with them. He knows our hearts; our Scriptures are a tool that convey God’s vision to us. Often, we look, and all we can see is the outward person. Every once in a while, people will show you their heart, but most of the time, you just see the outward; sometimes, all we see is what we want of our own heart. But God always sees the heart.