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.
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.
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!
That introduces a fascinating question relevant to Christian existence: "For what purpose does a Christian acquire material things/possessions?"
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].
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."
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."
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!
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.
What were these Christians problem? They were self-absorbed. Having what they wanted was their primary concern.
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.
Human greed does not reflect the Holy God!
Thought Questions:
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 8