Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be rich? Of course you have – we all do! I will admit that I have fantasized on more than one occasion what it would be like to be wealthy. I think everyone dreams of what it would be like to have no worries about paying the mortgage or paying for those unexpected bills that come along. And imagine how wonderful to be able to help your family members, your friends, and your church. What would be the downsides to having a lot of money?
Well, let’s think for a moment about this question – what is rich? How much money does it take to be rich? In recent years there has been a great amount of talk about the 1%, that small sliver of our society – the super rich – who have great wealth and all the privilege that comes from that wealth. Now consider this question – has it ever occurred to you that you might be a member of the 1%? You might find that to be a rather ridiculous question, as we believe it’s Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires who populate the very exclusive 1% club. Allow me, however, to make a suggestion to you, and it is one that might hold a surprise for you. Take a moment today, or in the next few days, and visit the web site http://www.globalrichlist.com. You will be surprised at the amount of annual income it takes to be part of the global 1%, because when we think of wealth, we often make the wrong comparison. Generally speaking, we compare our financial status with those who are well above us on the economic ladder, such as Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. The real comparison, however, is not with those who are above us, but the multitudes of people globally who are so far below us on the economic ladder that they do not even reach the first rung. So here is a surprise about the 1%, on a global scale, that I’ll share with you – if you earn a net income of $50,000 annually, congratulations, not only are you rich, you are also a member of the global 1%. A net income of $50,000 a year places you in the 0.31% globally, and you rank number 18,652,583 out of the roughly 7.7 billion people on the earth. Does that surprise you? Do you feel wealthy? Do you suddenly feel like taking everyone out to lunch after church? Do you suddenly feel the overpowering urge to put a really big check in the offering plate? Or, we could ask this question, how is it possible to be wealthy – in comparison to most of the world – and yet not feel rich and to have very real financial struggles?
This morning we conclude the series of messages from the book of James. As we come to chapter 5, we find that James has saved some of his toughest words for last, which is really saying something, as James has had tough words in each of the preceding four chapters. As he comes to the end of his book, however, he sharpens his pen even more. James takes quite a bit of the luster off the appeal of being rich with his harsh words for the wealthy. Follow along with me as I read verses 1-11 of chapter 5 –
1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.
2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.
8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Wow! That’s almost enough to convince us to throw away those Powerball tickets, isn’t it? Why does James have such harsh words about people with money? What does James have against the rich? Why does he condemn them so harshly? Let’s take a closer look and see –
1. First, understand that the Bible has quite a bit to say about money.
The Bible certainly has a lot to say about money, and the advice and admonitions that are given cover a lot of different points of view. Here’s a sampling of how much the Bible speaks about money, wealth, and possessions and a bit of what it has to say –
A. Money and possessions are about the second most referenced topic in the Bible. Money plays a part in almost half of the parables of Jesus. While the Bible offers around 500 verses on prayer, and fewer than 500 verses on faith, it has more than 2,000 verses on money. And, of all the topics on which Jesus spoke, money was one of his primary subjects.
B. Debt, according to Scripture is not forbidden, but it is always seen in a negative light and something to be avoided (the amount of worldwide debt now stands at about $250 trillion dollars. That’s $250 trillion, which is a very sobering amount. Read the article at this link if you want to learn more about what’s behind that figure – https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-lehman-debt/).
C. Obviously, the Bible says that we should give of our money. I don’t think any more needs to be said on that point.
D. We should not focus on acquiring possessions. In a consumer-driven economy, that is a tough sell, so to speak.
E. We should handle our money carefully and make good investments. In the book of Proverbs, especially, we read a number of verses about the importance of handling money wisely and making good investments. Proverbs 13:22 says, for instance, a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children. To have enough money to leave an inheritance to our grandchildren requires, I would say, careful investing and saving and accumulating money.
F. While the Bible says we should handle our money carefully and make good investments, Jesus seemed to go against that advice when he said, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal(Mathew 6:19-20).
G. The Bible often warns about the dangers of money. In I Timothy 6:10 Paul writes perhaps the most famous – and oft-misquoted – words about money in all of the Bible, when he says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil(note that Paul says it is the love of money, rather than money itself, that is the root of evil).
The reality is, the Bible has much to say about money, so much so that it would be difficult to claim that it says just one thing about money. The Bible has a lot to say about money, and it speaks of money in different ways because there are many different facets when it comes to our relationship with money. If I could, then, put together one sentence to sum up the overall Biblical approach to money it would be this – money can be a gift, because it can do good things for others and for God’s kingdom, but take great care with money, the pursuit of money, and the longing for money, because there are some great dangers that are inherent with money, and it can damage your relationships, your faith, and your soul.
While that is all well and good, we still have the question of why James wrote so harshly about the rich. Did he assume they were too beholden to money? Did he assume they built their fortunes in ways that were unethical? Or, did he simply think it is wrong to have money and wealth? The short answer to those questions, I believe, is no, and here is why I would say no–
2. What James is condemning is a system of finance and an economy that favors a few people while taking advantage of most people.
I understand, certainly, that in today’s political climate, that statement sounds as though I took it right from the stump speeches of a few politicians, but when we read the Bible I think it is a truth that, from beginning to end, the Bible is harshly critical of economic systems that favor the few and take advantage of the many.
When James writes about the rich, he is not condemning every person who is rich or saying that all rich people are evil. What James is speaking of, I believe, is wealth as representative of an economic system that has been constructed to benefit some people to the exclusion of others. And not only does that system benefit some people – usually a small number – it is designed in a way that ensures the people who benefit can perpetuate that system in order to guarantee it will continue to benefit them and their families across the span of generations. The theme of unfair and unjust economic systems is one that goes far back into the Old Testament, with the prohibitions against usury (usury is the charging of excessive interest rates, especially from people who can least afford to pay them, and is condemned in several passages, such as Exodus 22:25-27, which says “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate). What would happen to most economic systems if interest were not charged? Well, the interest rates on some things are getting fairly close to zero, but there are a lot of people who pay punishing levels of interest, and those levels rise to the point of putting those people in almost inescapable financial bondage. The year of the Jubilee, commanded in Leviticus 25:8-13, was a year that took place every 49 or 50 years and was when all slaves and prisoners were freed, debts were forgiven, and land was returned to the original owner. The design of the Jubilee year was to make right the problems in the economy, such as the problem of people becoming trapped in debt and losing their land because of that debt. The Jubilee year was a way to build corrective actions into the economy. In Acts 2:44-45 we find another approach, one that is a counter-economy to the predominant economy. That famous passage tells us that in the early church all the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells us to pray give us today our daily bread(Matthew 6:11), encouraging us to not ask for more than we need or for more than is needed for the moment. These passages and others had the purpose, I believe, of moving humanity to the creation of an economic order that would be as fair and equitable as possible for all people.
The reality, however, was far from fair and equitable, even in the religious world. In the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple we find the outrage Jesus had to an economic system in the Temple – the heart of faith – that had been designed to take advantage of people. When pilgrims came to the Temple to make a sacrifice, for example, the system was set up to take advantage of them when they came to exchange their local currency to the Temple currency; or to find a blemish in their sacrifice that rendered it unacceptable, and there would just happen to be another sacrificial animal available to purchase, at a greatly inflated price, unfortunately. What so enraged Jesus about this system was its blessing and design by the religious leaders and religious hierarchy who also benefited from that system. Jesus was outraged that people were taken advantage of and treated unfairly by the very people who should have worked to guarantee fairness and equality, but instead perpetuated a system that caused people to associate religion with unfairness. God’s name was used to line the pockets of the few at the expense – the literal expense – of the many. So Jesus fashioned a whip, very methodically, (John 2:13-22) and cracked that whip while turning over the tables of the money changers and drove those who represented that corrupt and unfair system out of the Temple.
3. So, what do we do about the way things are?
I understand it is easy, at this point, to ask, well, Dave, that’s all well and good, but what are we supposed to do about it? This is just the way things have always been and it’s the way they will always be. I will certainly acknowledge there is truth in that response. I will also, however, make a few suggestions, which might seem small and insignificant, but I believe they are worthwhile and important –
A. Recognize we are all part of an economic system that has some problems.
I sometimes hear calls to avoid certain businesses because they are viewed – by some people – as being complicit in the evils of the world. Their call for others to follow their advice and avoid those businesses, they believe, will make the world a better place. I understand this idea, and I practice it in my own life. A friend of mine, however, often reminds me that we are all complicit. We are all part of a system that has its share of injustices, inequalities, and unfairness. We are all complicit in some way and it is simply not possible to untangle ourselves from the complicated web of unfairness and injustices, so I don’t tell others where they should or shouldn’t shop, eat, or spend their money. Honestly, I find in some of the people who do want to tell us where we should or shouldn’t spend our money a certain amount of self-righteousness, as they seem to imply that anyone who doesn’t do as they say is in some way morally compromised.
The truth is, life is complicated, and we often want to make things simple, but they are not always simple. It’s not as simple as avoiding a certain store or perpetuating certain stereotypes, such as ones that say people are poor because they make bad choicesor they are lazy, etc. Yes, some people make bad choices and some people are not very motivated in life, but that does not in any way diminish what many people face. Some people are poor because of the neighborhood in which they were born and raised. The realities those people face was very well explained in an OpEd in the Louisville Courier-Journalthat was written by Reverend Kevin Cosby, pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in Louisville (you can read the OpEd here – https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/06/07/louisville-doesnt-even-know-what-has-stolen-blacks-kevin-cosby/375456001/). In that column, Reverend Cosby writes about the history of redlining and other practices that institutionalized economic realities that made it difficult, if not impossible, for families in particular neighborhoods to get loans. Some people are poor, not because of any bad decisions on their part of because they are lazy, but because they have been trapped by a system that favors some and punishes others.
B. Think about how you spend and invest your money.
We might, as individuals, be an infinitesimal part of a much larger system, but we can do something, even if it is nothing more than satisfying our conscience. There are some businesses that will never get my money. I don’t like the way they do business, I don’t like their policies, I don’t like their practices, and so they have to do without my money. I realize that my withholding my business does almost nothing to harm their overall bottom line, but it makes me feel better. I also recognize that when more and more people decide to withhold their money, change can, and does, happen. One person’s withholding of money might not be much, but when it is coupled with others, it does make a difference.
C. Work to make the world as it should be, in patience and perseverance, but understand there are people who do not want the world to change from how it is, and their resistance is very challenging.
Sister Dorothy Stang was a nun from Dayton, Ohio. She traveled to the Amazon jungle and ministered there for 30 years, riding a motorcycle and camping in the jungle. Things changed greatly in the 30 years of her ministry, and because she often stood up to the powerful interests who wanted to change the forest and the way of life for the people there, she began to be watched closely, and eventually had a price on her head because she made some powerful enemies in her work, of which she was aware. One day, as she traveled along a road she was followed and watched closely. On that day, two men emerge from the forest onto the road, carrying weapons and blocking her path. They asked if she had any weapons and in reply, she held up her Bible. This is my weapon, she told them. She opened the Bible to her favorite passage and began to read from Matthew chapter 5, which contains the Beatitudes and the first section of the Sermon On the Mount. She read through the Beatitudes, and as she read, the gunmen listened, and she continued to read.
It’s a great story so far, isn’t it? Sister Stang was there to minister to the people in the Amazon and in her ministry, she worked to show how the balance between protecting the forest and farming/developing did not have to be mutually exclusive. She had gained the respect of many, but the men listening to her that day were not among those who respected her or her work. When she finished reading from the Sermon On the Mount and closed her Bible, they drew their weapons and fired, ending her life.
It is easy to assume that story would have a good ending, but it does not, unfortunately. There are not always good endings to stories in real life. The world is not as it should be, and it is certainly not as God intended it to be, so we work at it. But remember this – James tells us that God will ultimately bring vindication to those who need it, while also reminding us that the kingdoms of this world and the systems they build and protect and benefit from are kingdoms that do not give up easily. Jesus faced some very real enemies in his ministry. They were enemies that eventually took him to the cross, but the cross overcame and demonstrated how empty the powers of earthly kingdoms ultimately are. James asks us to be patient, but that patience does not require that we accept the way things are, and it does not mean that we do not work to be the hands and feet of God, helping to make The World As It Should Be.
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