Let's Talk About: Faith & Wealth

Faith & Wealth – Talk 2 Faith & Wealth – Talk Malcolm Lithgow / General Let's Talk About It / Faith; Wealth; Money; God / James 1:1–4; James 1:9–11; Revelation 3:21; James 2:18 James values character over worldly circumstances, and he sees trials as building character. He encourages the poor and the rich to look not to their worldly circumstances, but to the character of Christ in them.  Introduction The letter from James is a powerful, straightforward letter that advises the early Christians, scattered across the Mediterranean world by persecution, on how to live in a difficult and hostile world. James focuses on practical advice, but his introduction tells us his underlying theology. James believes that trials are a great benefit, that we should take joy in. Why? Because by enduring faithfully through trials, God builds our character. He perfects us. You see, for James, what matters in a person is not their physical abilities, nor their intellectual abilities, nor their business or financial abilities. What matters is their character. James asks: do you have integrity, do you act consistently according to your faith? Do you act with love? Do you care for your brothers and sisters in Christ in practical ways? Are you quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry? Do you say what you mean, while still speaking gently and lovingly? Do you treat others as Jesus would treat them, or do you allow the things of this world to influence you? This, says James, is what counts: actions, not mere words. James famously says, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” The poor So when James talks about money, and he does so several times in his short letter, you would expect him to be very practical. And yet this first comment on the struggles of the poor and the rich seems almost poetic, rather than practical! “Poor believers should boast in their elevation and the rich in their humiliation!” What’s going on here? Well, James is simply expressing his underlying theology: what counts is not the worldly circumstance, but the character! So a poor Christian must not fixate on their poverty: their ongoing struggle to provide for themselves or their families; their lowly status, as one who doesn’t contribute much. Instead, the poor Christian must remember that they have been adopted by the most high God, the creator of the universe. They are now his redeemed sons, joint heirs with Jesus Christ to the Kingdom of God! That’s what really matters! The same applies to us. None of us are really poor in the sense that James is using it. I think everyone here has a house to go home to, we all have sufficient means to eat tonight, and tomorrow. And yet we, too can get caught up in the struggle to survive in this world. We, too, can feel that we have no value here, that we contribute nothing to the world. James says, don’t do that! Instead, remember that you will sit with Christ on his throne! Sounds crazy, but it’s true! Read the letter to Laodicea in Revelation 3! The rich And the rich? We certainly fit this category better. And we are tempted to rely on our wealth, to find security in it, to find significance in our success in work and society. Yet we are to take pride in our “humiliation,” in the fact that we are sinners saved, not by our own work, but by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to take pride in the way the world hates us, just as it hated Jesus. We are to take pride in the way our riches don’t belong to us, they belong to God and will fade away when he decides, just as the beauty of a wild-flower fades. Like the poor, our worldly status does not define us. We are not better because we’re rich, and neither are we worse. It is our character that counts. How we love God, how we love others, and how we act that out with whatever resources God has granted us this day. So let that be our goal: to use everything God has given us, wealth and poverty, health and weakness, to serve and love him with all our hearts! Amen.