Money does talk

"If money talks," said a poor man, "all it ever says to me is good-bye!"

But money was not saying "good-bye" to the men James addressed in the section (James 5:1 - 6) of his Epistle. 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.

James said: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Saboath. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you" (James 5:1 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).

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 trouble." The other four marks of the mature Christians are: Patient in testing (James 1), practices the truth (James 2), power over his tongue (James 3), not a troublemaker (James 4) - Please refer to my earlier message, "Spiritual Maturity."

Instead of giving up when trouble 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 the rich got their wealth, the way they used their wealth and what their riches will do.

The way the rich got their wealth (James 5:4, 6)

James said: "Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and their cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Saboath. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you" (James 5:4, 6, emphasis added).

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 illgal purposes. The prophet Amos thundered a message of judgment against the wealthy upper crust who robbed the poor and used their stolen wealth for selfich luxuries. Isaiah and Jeremiah also exposed the selfichness 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.

1. Holding back wages (James 5:4)

In those days, laborers were hired and paid by the day and did not have any legal contracts with their employers. The Parable of the laborers (workers) in Matthew 20:1 - 16 gives some idea of the system in those days. In the Law of Moses, 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 one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you" (Deut. 24:14, 15).

"You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning" (Lev. 19:13).

Jeremiah said: "Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor's service without wages and give him nothing 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. It is embarrassing when unsaved men tell us about Christians who owe them money and apparently have no intention of paying.

2. Controlling the courts (James 5:6)


James said: "You have condemned, you have murdered the just; ..." (James 5:6, emphasis added) .

It is often that those who have wealth also have political power and can get what they want. To them the Golden Rule is : "Whoever has the gold makes the rules!"

James said earlier: "But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts" (James 2:6)?

When God established Israel in her land, He gave the people a system of courts (read 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 poor (Lev. 19:15). No judge was to tolerate perjury (Deut. 19:16 - 21). Bribery was condemned by the Lord (Isa. 33:15; Micah 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' days were apparently easy to control if you had enough money. The poor workers could not afford expensive lawsuit, 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. The word "murdered" should probably be taken in a figurative way, although 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 to 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 tho be stewards of His wealth for His glory.

"Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished. But he who gathers by labor will increase" (Prov. 13:11).

"Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understand, cease" (Prov. 23:4)!

Jesus said: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things whall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33).

We must put God first in our lives, and He will see to it that we always have all that we need.

The way the rich used their wealth (James 5:3 - 5)

James said: "Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Saboath. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter" (James 5:3 - 5, emphasis added).

It is bad enough to gain wealth in a sinful way, but to use that wealth in sinful ways just makes the sin greater.

Heaped up treasure

There is nothing sinful about saving - "heaped up treasure." Paul said: "For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children" (2 Cor. 12:14). Paul also said: "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his houshold, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Tim. 5:8).

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 possession. instead of laying up treasure in heaven by using their wealth for God's glory (Matt. 6:20), they were selfishly guarding it for their own security and pleasure. Not more than 10 years after James wrote this Epistle, Jerusalem fell to the Romans, and all this accumulated wealth was taken.

What did Jesus mean by "laying up treasure in heaven"? Did He mean we whould "sell everything and give to the poor" as He instructed the rich young ruler (Matt 19:21)? 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.

Kept back by fraud

The rich men robbed the poor by fraudulent. They 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 respondibiltities toward our Master. We must be faithful to use what He gives us for the good of others and the glory of God.

Lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury

All of us are grateful for the good things of life, and we would certainly not want to return to primitive conditions.

Someone said: "Tell me what you need and I will tell you how to get along without it."

Jesus said: "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses" (Luke 12:15).

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 the rich's riches will do (James 5:1 - 4)

James said: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments 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 heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who moved your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and ther cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of saboath" (James 5:1 - 4, emphasis added).

The rich thought they had it made because of their wealth, but God thought otherwise - "weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!"

These are the consequences of misusing riches:

Riches will vanish (James 5:2, 3)

Riches are corrupt 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 think there is security in wealth. Paul said: "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17). Riches are uncertain. The money market fluctuates from hour to hour, and so does the stock market. Gold is losing its value though it does not rust the way iron does. Add to 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 fool": "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided" (Luke 12:20)?

Misused riches erode character (James 5:3)

James said: "... their corrosion will be witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire."

The poison of wealth has infected the rich that they are being eaten alive. Of itself, money is not sinful; it is neutral. But "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Tim. 6:10). The last of the Ten Commandments is - "Thou shalt not covet." But, it is the most dangerous, because covetousness will make a person break all the other nine Commandments!

Judgment is a certainty (James 5:3, 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 and He is "standing at the door" (James 5:9)!

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, rusted gold and silver, and moth-eaten garments will bear witness of selfishness of their heart. The wages they held back will also witness against them (James 5:4). Money does talk! These stolen salaries cry out to God for justice and judgment. God heard Abel's blood cried 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 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 but not our salvation (1 Cor. 3:1 - 15).

Conclusion

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. Yes, money does talk. What will it say to you at the last judgment?