Dangers of Greed
James • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. 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.
Look! 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 Armies. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you.
Elephant in the room
Last week was about planning and arrogance - NOT about money
This week - about materialism and greed!
Having money isn’t a sin.
Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
There is no evidence that this is call of doom on Christians with money.
In fact, the first 2 verses that we will see next week say this
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Why would James talk encourage those that the Lord is near right after telling them that they have fattened themselves for slaughter?
Simple...he’s talking to 2 different groups of people.
Remember, James is seen as a sort of wisdom book of the NT, and this is VERY reminiscent to the wisdom writings in the OT.
Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you.
Very reminiscent of to the OT! Bold, drastic, and dramatic!
The Gk for “wail” used were always used by the prophets (in the Gk translation) for judgement by God towards people.
Wail! For the day of the Lord is near. It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
In that day the singing in the temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
James is hearkening back to the OT warning against coming judgement!
Is having money a sin? - NO!
However, not relying on the Lord your God and giving credit to Him IS.
And people tend to get a big head and boast in prideful arrogance when we feel we have achieved things on our own. And the #1 way we get that feeling is with $!
In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
Again, Jesus’s point here isn’t that having money deny’s one entry into heaven, but that you cannot BUY your way into heaven. That your early “power” means nothing to God in as far as a reason to gain access to His power or to heaven.
The earthly views on how things work are not how God works.
Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. 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.
What good are things that fade away and go bad to the God who created all things and is eternal?
The mention of gold corroding shows us that this is prophetic, rather than literal - gold doesn’t physically corrode.
As we see shortly, the complaint here is HOW these rich people got their wealth, NOT THAT they have wealth.
That’s why this is held against them as witness.
Firstly, it’s held against them because they store it up for themselves.
Jesus - red ink
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Our trust is to be in the Lord, not in our ability to do things on our own!
Also - we’re supposed to lean on one another. We are not meant to do this alone.
Look! 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 Armies.
Lesson #1 - God hears the cries of the oppressed and the cries of those suffering!
If you are falling into that category, please don’t give up on Jesus! He hears you!!!
God has 3 answers to our prayers - Yes, No, and Not Yet.
God’s timing isn’t always the timing we desire, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t listening, doesn’t care, and that Hes not going to act! Vengeance is mine, says the LORD! (Rom 12:19 - also Deut).
Lesson #2 - Do not be an oppressor! God is not for oppression!
God is a God of justice and mercy. Those live in tension, but NEITHER of them leave room for the oppression of others!
This doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be consequences for bad and evil actions. That’s what justice is for.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
God calls us to justice and to mercy, not to be the one wearing the boot holding people down.
And James is talking about this concerning the greedy.
Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.
In fact, go back 1 single verse for more clarity
But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed.
Moving on
You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you.
This feels like Job! The one found righteous before God losing all things, while the religious and greedy tell him that he must have done wrong (or today, you don’t have enough faith).
This is a warning to those who have gained their wealth through greed and wrong and evil means - judgement is coming, and you will get what you deserve.
Just because you’ve lived a comfortable life here on earth, doesn’t guarantee that life for eternity.
And James wraps this up by pointing out that they have gained this lifestyle (and thus earned this harsh justice) by condemning others to a life of poverty, shame, and cruelty due to their wicked and selfish tactics.
Worship team
Remember, God is not apposed to you having money - He’s apposed to you taking advantage of others to attain it.
God calls us to live in balance between justice and mercy.
Lean towards mercy, but maintain justice for other.
Trust God in all things, and do not be greedy.
Pray -
Father, thank you for being a God that hears the cries of those in trouble. We trust in your timing, even when it seems like we are all alone. Don’t let us be greedy, but rather empower and encourage us to live in generosity and compassion to those around us. Help us to be a blessing to those who need it most. Give us your eyes and your heart for both justice and mercy. Direct us as to which way you would have us act in different situations. Forgive us for the times when we have done wrong, and help us to correct our past issues and walk rightly with you as we go forward.
In Jesus’s name we pray, amen.
