Money Talks / Bible Study
MONEY TALKS
James 5:1-6
If money talks," said a popular comedian, "all it ever says to me is good-bye!"
But money was not saying "good-bye" to the men James addressed in this section of his letter. These men were rich, and their riches were sinful. They were using their wealth for selfish purposes, and were persecuting the poor in the process.
One of the themes that runs through James 5 is trouble. We meet poor people deprived of their wages (James 5:4), as well as people who are physically afflicted (James 5:13-16), and spiritually backslidden (James 5:19-20). A second theme that James introduced is prayer. The poor laborers cry out to God (James 5:4). The sick and afflicted should pray (James 5:13-16). He cited Elijah as an example of one who believed in prayer (James 5:17-18).
When you join these two themes, you arrive at the fifth mark of the mature Christian: he is Prayerful in troubles. Instead of giving up when troubles come, the mature believer turns to God in prayer and seeks divine help. The immature person trusts in his own experience and skill, or else turns to others for help. While it is true that God often meets our needs through the hands of other people, this aid must be the result of prayer.
James did not say it was a sin to be rich. After all, Abraham was a wealthy man, yet he walked with God, and was greatly used of God to bless the whole world. James was concerned about the selfishness of the rich, and advised them to "weep and howl." He gave three reasons for his exhortation.
The Way They Got Their Wealth (James 5:4, 6 a)
The Bible does not discourage the acquiring of wealth. In the Law of Moses, specific rules are laid down for getting and securing wealth. The Jews in Canaan owned their own property, worked it, and benefited from the produce. In several of His parables, Jesus indicated His respect for personal property and private gain. There is nothing in the Epistles that contradicts the right of private ownership and profit.
What the Bible does condemn is acquiring wealth by illegal means or for illegal purposes. The Prophet Amos thundered a message of judgment against the wealthy upper crust who robbed the poor and used their stolen wealth for selfish luxuries. Isaiah and Jeremiah also exposed the selfishness of the rich and warned that judgment was coming. It is in this spirit that James wrote. He gave two illustrations of how the rich acquired their wealth.
Holding back wages (v. 4). Laborers were hired and paid by the day and did not have any legal contracts with their employers. The Parable of the Laborers in Matt 20:1-16 gives some idea of the system in that day. In the Law, God gave definite instructions concerning the laboring man in order to protect him from the oppressive employer.
"You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he may not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you" (Deut 24:14-15).
"You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning" (Lev 19:13).
"Woe to him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work" (Jer 22:13).
These rich men had hired the laborers and promised to pay them a specific amount. The men had completed their work but had not been paid. The tense of the verb "kept back" in the original Greek indicates that the laborers never will get their salaries.
"Thou shalt not steal" is still the law of God, and it is a law He will enforce. As Christians, it behooves us to be faithful to pay our bills. As a pastor, I find myself embarrassed when unsaved men tell me about Christians who owe them money and apparently have no intention of paying.
Controlling the courts (v. 6 a). It is often the case that those who have wealth also have political power and can get what they want. "What is the Golden Rule?" asked a character in a comic strip. His friend answered, "Whoever has the gold makes the rules!" James asked, "Do not the rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats?" (James 2:6)
When the name Watergate is mentioned, nobody thinks of a beautiful hotel. That word reminds us of an ugly episode in American history that led to the revelation of lies and the resignation of the President of the United States. Each side accused the other of obstructing justice and manipulating the laws.
When God established Israel in her land, He gave the people a system of courts (Deut 17:8-13). He warned the judges not to be greedy (Ex 18:21). They were not to be partial to the rich or the poor (Lev 19:15). No judge was to tolerate perjury (Deut 19:16-21). Bribery was condemned by the Lord (Isa 33:15; Mic 3:11; 7:3). The Prophet Amos denounced the judges in his day who took bribes and "fixed" cases (Amos 5:12,15).
The courts in James' day were apparently easy to control if you had enough money. The poor workers could not afford expensive lawsuits, so they were beaten down every time. The workers had the just cause, but they were not given justice. Instead, they were abused and ruined. ("Killed" should probably be taken in a figurative way, as in James 4:2, though it is possible that the rich men could so oppress the poor that the poor would die.) The poor man did not resist the rich man because he had no weapons with which to fight. All he could do was call on the Lord for justice.
The Bible warns us against the securing of wealth by illegal means. God owns all wealth (Ps 50:10); He permits us to be stewards of His wealth for His glory. "Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, but the one who gathers by labor increases it" (Prov 13:11). It is "the hand of the diligent that makes rich" (Prov 10:4). "Do not weary yourself to gain wealth" (Prov 23:4). We must put God first in our lives, and He will see to it that we always have all that we need (Matt 6:33).
The Way the Rich Used Their Wealth (James 5:3-5)
It is bad enough to gain wealth in a sinful way, but to use that wealth in sinful ways just makes the sin greater.
They stored it up (v. 3). Of course, there is nothing sinful about saving. "For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children" (2 Cor 12:14). "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim 5:8). "Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest" (Matt 25:27).
But it is wrong to store up wealth when you owe money to your employees. These rich men were hoarding grain, gold, and garments. They thought that they were rich because they had these possessions. Instead of laying up treasures in heaven by using their wealth for God's glory (Matt 6:19), they were selfishly guarding it for their own security and pleasure. Not more than ten years after James wrote this letter, Jerusalem fell to the Romans, and all this accumulated wealth was taken.
What did Jesus mean by "laying up treasures in heaven"? Did He mean we should "sell everything and give to the poor" as He instructed the rich young ruler? I think not. He spoke that way to the rich ruler because covetousness was the young man's besetting sin, and Jesus wanted to expose it. To lay up treasures in heaven means to use all that we have as stewards of God's wealth. You and I may possess many things, but we do not own them. God is the Owner of everything, and we are His stewards.
What we possess and use are merely things, apart from the will of God. When we yield to His will and use what He gives us to serve Him, then things become treasures and we are investing in eternity. What we do on earth is recorded in heaven, and God keeps the books and pays the interest.
What a tragedy it is to see people "heap up treasures for the last days" instead of "laying up treasures in heaven." The Bible does not discourage saving, or even investing; but it does condemn hoarding.
By fraudulent means, the rich men robbed the poor. The rich men were not using their own wealth, but they would not pay their laborers and permit them to use the wealth.
Since we are stewards of God's wealth, we have certain responsibilities toward our Master. We must be faithful to use what He gives us for the good of others and the glory of God. "Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" (1 Cor 4:2). Joseph was a faithful steward in Potiphar's house, and Potiphar prospered. There are ways that we can use God's wealth to help others.
They lived in luxury (v. 5). "You have lived in high style on the earth!" (James 5:5, literal translation) Luxury is waste, and waste is sin.
All of us are grateful for the good things of life, and we would certainly not want to return to primitive conditions. But we recognize the fact that there is a point of diminishing returns. "Tell me what thou dost need," said the Quaker to his neighbor, "and I will tell thee how to get along without it." Jesus said, "Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). These rich men James addressed were feeding themselves on their riches and starving to death. The Greek word pictures cattle being fattened for the slaughter.
There is a great difference between enjoying what God has given us (1 Tim 6:17) and living extravagantly on what we have withheld from others. Even if what we have has been earned lawfully and in the will of God, we must not waste it on selfish living. There are too many needs to be met.
Luxury has a way of ruining character. It is a form of self-indulgence. If you match character with wealth, you can produce much good; but if you match self-indulgence with wealth, the result is sin. The rich man Jesus described in Luke 16:19-31 would have felt right at home with the rich men James wrote to!
What Their Riches Will Do (James 5:1-4)
The rich thought they had it made because of their wealth, but God thought otherwise. "Howl for your miseries that shall come upon you" (James 5:1). James described the consequences of misusing riches.
Riches will vanish (vv. 2-3 a). Grain will rot ("corrupted" in James 5:2); gold will lose value; and garments will become moth-eaten. Nothing material in this world will last forever. The seeds of death and decay are found in all of creation.
It is a great mistake to drink there is security in wealth. Paul wrote, "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited, or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches" (1 Tim 6:17). Riches are uncertain. The money market fluctuates from hour to hour, and so does the stock market. Actually, gold does not rust the way iron does; but the idea is the same: the gold is losing its value. Add to this the fact that life is brief, and we cannot take wealth with us, and you can see how foolish it is to live for the things of this world. God said to the rich man, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Luke 12:20)
Misused riches erode character (v. 3). "Their corrosion ... will eat your flesh Like fire" (James 5:3). This is a present judgment: the poison of wealth has infected them and they are being eaten alive. Of itself, money is not sinful; it is neutral. But "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Tim 6:10). "Thou shalt not covet" is the last of the Ten Commandments, but it is the most dangerous. Covetousness will make a person break all the other nine commandments.
Abraham was a rich man, but he maintained His faith and character. When Lot became rich, it ruined His character and ultimately ruined his family. It is good to have riches in your hand provided they do not get into your heart. "If riches increase, set not your heart upon them" (Ps 62:10). "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold" (Prov 22:1).
Judgment is a certainty (vv. 3, 5). James not only saw a present judgment (their wealth decaying, their character eroding), but also a future judgment before God. Jesus Christ will be the Judge (James 5:9), and His judgment will be righteous.
Note the witnesses that God will call on that day of judgment. First, the rich men's wealth will witness against them (James 5:3). Their rotten grain, lost value gold and silver, and moth-eaten garments will bear witness of the selfishness of their hearts. There is a bit of irony here: the rich men saved their wealth to help them, but their hoarded riches will only testify against them.
The wages they held back will also witness against them in court (James 5:4 a). Money talks! These stolen salaries cry out to God for justice and judgment. God heard Abel's blood cry out from the ground (Gen 4:10), and He hears this stolen money cry out too.
The workers will also testify against them (James 5:4). There will be no opportunities for the rich to bribe the witnesses or the Judge. God hears the cries of His oppressed people and He will judge righteously.
This judgment is a serious thing. The lost will stand before Christ at the Great White Throne (Rev 20:11-15). The saved will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom 14:10-12; 2 Cor 5:9-10). God will not judge our sins, because they have already been judged on the cross; but He will judge our works and our ministry. If we have been faithful in serving and glorifying Him, we will receive a reward; if we have been unfaithful, we shall lose our reward (1 Cor 3:1-15).
The loss of a precious opportunity (v. 3). "The last days" indicates that James believed that the coming of the Lord was near (James 5:8-9). We must "buy up the opportunity" (Eph 5:16, literal translation) and work while it is day (John 9:4). Think of the good that could have been accomplished with that hoarded wealth. There were poor people in that congregation who could have been helped (James 2:1-6). There were workers who deserved their wages. Sad to say, in a few years the Jewish nation was defeated and scattered, and Jerusalem destroyed.
It is good to have the things that money can buy, provided you also have the things that money cannot buy. What good is a $500,000 house if there is no home? Or a million-dollar diamond ring if there is no love? James did not condemn riches or rich people; he condemned the wrong use of riches, and rich people who use their wealth as a weapon and not as a tool with which to build.
It is possible to be "poor in this world" (James 2:5) and yet rich in the next world. It is also possible to be "rich in this world" (1 Tim 6:17) and poor in the next world. The return of Jesus Christ will make some people poor and others rich, depending on the spiritual condition of their hearts. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:21).
What we keep, we lose. What we give to God, we keep, and He adds interest to it.
Prov 19:17 - "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again."
"If you like the terms, then put down your money." Yes, money talks. What will it say to you at the last judgment?