The objective of this lesson: to focus on the fact that greed and its materialistic expressions do not and cannot reflect the Holy God.
In my few years in the mission arena of West Africa, I met realities previously unknown, previously not experienced. As a child and adolescent I saw true poverty. I saw the daily consequences of privation. I was not naive to poverty's effects when we moved to West Africa. Though not naive, I was unprepared for those life conditions. Even as I draw these word pictures, I know only living next to it reveals it.
It is a serious mistake to conclude the quite real poverty in this country and the unimaginable poverty in many third world countries are identical. The extent of privation in other countries is astounding.
I often saw those I knew well live with family and possessions in one eight foot square room. I lived among many people with severe malaria headaches daily who neither owned nor could acquire aspirin. I witnessed extended families sacrifice the unimaginable to educate one person in the hope he, later, could get a job and rescue that family from poverty. [Later, they discovered there were no jobs.] I lived among people who were victims of circumstances they did not create and from which they could not escape. I was forced to realize I could not change their poverty situation. [Anything Joyce and I did was at worst a momentary improvement and at best a temporary improvement.] When your family has enough to eat, enough to wear, a home, and medicine, those are awkward, heart wrenching, distressing circumstances.
Things we take for granted and commonly think are available to everyone are frequently unavailable to people trapped in unimaginable poverty.
At times we would get a letter from a USA friend who asked, "How can you live like that?" Nor was it unusual to have a local person ask, "How can we be rich like you?" Wealth is a matter of circumstances and perspective!
What appears to be poverty to one group can appear to be wealth to another group.
That introduces a fascinating question relevant to Christian existence: "For what purpose does a Christian acquire material things/possessions?"
Some form of this question is asked or addressed frequently in Old Testament Israel and is often addressed by Jesus and New Testament writers. The reason for acquiring is genuinely a spiritual issue, not just a material/economic issue. For examples, consider Deuteronomy 15; Isaiah 1:10-20; Amos 6:1-10; Matthew 6:19-34; Ephesians 4:28; and James 2:1-9. God always is concerned about the injustices encouraged and supported by poverty. When God's people are unconcerned about such injustices they abandon God.
We acquire for more than one reason. Often acquiring is the result of a interweaving of motives. The question always will be, "Do our motives reflect the purposes and concerns of our God?"
Today's texts are both troubling and insightful. James made some insightful observations to his original readers. These statements [as well as other New Testament statements] were made in the slave economy of a poverty stricken world [a small wealthy class, a small middle class, and a huge poverty class, with Christians in all three segments].
As real and as extensive as poverty is in today's world, it was likely more prominent in the New Testament world.
The Christians to whom James wrote inflicted quarreling and conflicts on their Christian community. James asked, "Why is this happening?" He answered with these observations. (1) "You lust for what you do not have, you destroy each other, and you are filled with envy because you do not ask" [ask God]. (2) "You ask [God] for what you want and do not receive it because you have evil motives--you want to spend it on yourself." (3) "When a Christian seeks to befriend the forces that oppose God, he/she becomes guilty of spiritual adultery."
Material desires and greed are often in the motivations of godly people who resort to ungodly behavior. It is simple for godly people to allow their motives and actions to be guided by material concerns rather than God's purposes.
James's observations in James 4:1-10 are striking! (1) God is immovable in regard to this reality: He wants those people who are His people TO BELONG ONLY TO HIM, EXCLUSIVELY TO HIM. (2) The certain way for a Christian to become God's opponent: to arrogantly confront God rather than humbly submitting to God. (3) One of the bedrock stones in the Christian's foundation of godly service: submit to God [in context, find your security in God, not the material]. (4) Therefore, resist the devil, causing him to flee, and come as close as possible to God [in context, refuse to allow the material to be the source of your pleasure or security]. (5) "You Christians desperately need to repent [redirect your lives]. Realize what you have done, and go into mourning. Do not use the wrong motives to produce your sense of pleasure. Humble yourself before God and He will exalt you."
Emphasize this fact: God's people are to belong to God EXCLUSIVELY. Christians do not seek "to appease God" and live as though they do not know God. Attempts to appease God succeed only in deceiving the person who seeks to deceive God.
What was their basic problem in these verses? They wanted material things, and they wanted them for the wrong reasons. They did not want to acquire in order to help others. They wanted to acquire to satisfy their own unspiritual desires! Resisting the devil, coming to God, cleansing and purification, their need to be grieved, their need to humble themselves before God all had to do with their love affair with the material. They entrusted their emotions to selfishness, to obtaining wealth for themselves. Those emotions belonged exclusively to God!
Note that wrong motivations for acquiring material things resulted in spiritual disaster. It is simple and convenient to give emotions to the material that belong only to God.
In 5:1-6, he told rich Christians that if they realized what was coming to them, intense grief would be the immediate result. Every source of wealth in which they trusted had rotted or rusted [were destroyed by forces they could not control]. Not only were they destroyed, but the rot and rust witnessed against them in judgment]. The laborers used to amass wealth acknowledged the abuse they received, and the Lord heard them. The wealthy were only concerned with their lifestyle and living standard. They were not concerned about the plight of the innocent who had no power, no recourse. Thus, just as livestock was fattened for the slaughterhouse, they fattened their hearts for God's slaughterhouse.
There will be no deceptions in judgment. One's "real" motivations in earthly existence will be obvious to all--including Jesus and God.
What were these Christians problem? They were self-absorbed. Having what they wanted was their primary concern.
A preoccupation with selfish motives/considerations will deceive us.
Paul declared to Timothy that when Christians follow a desire for wealth, they are pursuing a temptation which can destroy them. Loving money is the avenue to all sorts of evil. We Christians need to be acutely aware of the danger of confusing "good business" with greed.
Christians desperately need to understand who their true enemy is. Satan seeks our deception. God seeks our eternal best interest.
Human greed does not reflect the Holy God!
A Christian's commitment is to reflect God in his/her existence on a daily basis. Devotion to materialism blocks true reflections of God.
Thought Questions:
The sake of owning, personal ability, comparing favorably to others, acquiring power, acquiring prestige, seeking security, achieving a desired lifestyle, serving God's purposes, helping those who cannot acquire, etc.
(1) They lusted for things they did not have because they did not ask God. (2) God did not answer their request for such things because they wanted them for themselves [rather than for serving God's purposes]. (3) They were committing adultery against God by giving emotions to material desires that should belong exclusively to God.
They wanted material things for the wrong reasons.
They were self-absorbed.
It was an avenue that led to all kinds of evil.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 8