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Friend, I want to take a moment before starting today’s devotional to acknowledge the content we are covering. James 5 starts a letter where James is writing to the rich about how their wealth and how they are choosing to utilize it is impacting them and others.
I want to acknowledge that I know finances can be a hard subject. I personally have a hard financial history. I’ve seen how much pain it can cause and it took me until fairly recently to start realizing that money can also have an incredibly beautiful impact.
Knowing this, I decided to run a little survey on my Instagram account to see where y'all's perspectives and feelings are at when it comes to finances and finances as a tool for serving. If you don’t follow me on Instagram yet, I do invite you to follow me @acaylachung so you can participate in future “surveys” and learn more in depth the heart and story behind each devotional. What I learned from listening to my listeners is that we are almost split 50/50 down the middle in regards to neutral-good feelings towards money and negative feelings towards money.
As we start to dive into the text of James 5 I want to remind you of two things. First, I encourage you to open up your heart to this message and learn, or re-learn from it. When you see or hear the title of James 5 for the first time you might immediately think this message doesn't apply to you. I wouldn't necessarily label myself as the direct audience for James 5 either, but I have learned so much from it. When it comes right down to it, we are looking at the heart not the amount of money you have. Second,
my job is to focus on what James is saying and how it applies to us. I know that finances is one of those subjects that is so incredibly complex and deep. There are so many different angles and perspectives to consider when it comes to finances. To be honest with you, I got so caught up on all the levels of complexity when I first started writing that I had to take a step back and remind myself that it’s not my job to cover everything today. It’s my job to cover what James 5 says.
James 5:1-6
Warning to Rich Oppressors
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.
Your wealth has rotted, your moths have eaten your clothes. 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.
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the days of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
I know, friend. It’s a harsh sounding text. Take some deep breathes with me so we can reset from any initial anxiety the text may have caused and move forward with hearts ready to receive and learn.
Inhale through your nose; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Exhale through your mouth; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
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Inhale through your nose; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Exhale through your mouth; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
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Inhale through your nose; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Exhale through your mouth; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
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Inhale through your nose; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Exhale through your mouth; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Hold; 1, 2, 3, 4.
Feeling a little bit better? Me too.
I want to remind you of a passage we looked at a few weeks back.
James 4:9-10
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
When we read this part in James 4 we took into consideration why James was asking us to turn to mourning when we have historically been taught that God is calling us and bringing us to joy. If God is for our joy then why would we choose mourning and gloom? Upon a deeper look we discovered that James was asking us to realize the gravity of a life apart from Jesus. He was asking us to truly look inside and realize that apart from Christ we are already dead, apart from Christ we do mourn and live in gloom. James 5 starts with a similar message.
James 5:1
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.
Just like how James was telling us to mourn and cry if our lives are apart from Christ, he is now telling us that we should weep and wail in our wealth. Why? Let’s re-read that last part of James 5:1 “because of the misery that is coming upon you.”
You see, James wasn’t telling the rich people that they should begin weeping, that because they have money misery is inherently coming their way. No. James is using the same demanding language he used previously to make us realize something. The people being addressed, the part of us being addressed in this letter isn’t the mass or lack of money that we have. The physical amount of wealth means absolutely nothing. What does matter though is that there is something happening in the heart that is separating them and us from Christ. There is something happening in the heart that James is saying “Hey. Start mourning because you are living apart from Christ right now.” Friends. It doesn’t matter if you have $12 in your piggy bank or $12,000, when it comes to the impact on the heart it’s just as gravely serious either way.
In the following verse, James shows that there are multiple forms of wealth and that all of them can come with different consequences and different forms of wasting away. This is where I am choosing to spend most of my time today. Because two single verses dive into the heart of the matter so incredibly well.
James 5: 2-3
Your wealth has rotted, your moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.
The first form of wealth that James mentions is food; “your wealth has rotted”. To help us really understand the concept of food wealth and honestly, wealth in general, I want to look at a story earlier in the Bible. In Exodus 16, Moses and Aaron, through the power imparted on them through their God, have freed their people into the desert of Egypt. It is there, in the baking sun that the people who were just praising their God start to grumble against him. They become tired and start to feed lies to themselves that they were better off in Egypt, where they were being persecuted, than free in the desert with their Lord.
In Exodus 16:4 God acknowledges the groans of his people and tells Moses that he will “rain down bread from heaven” (Exodus 16:4) and on the sixth day he will provide enough food for them on the seventh day as well. When Moses goes back to share this glorious news with the people he exaggerates on God’s word and promises more than what God promised; both bread and meat. Even though Moses made a promise different than the promise God made, God still upheld it in His grace and mercy.
Exodus 16:13-20
That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is this?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ ”
The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not take too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.
Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.
When God promised to supply food to his liberated people, He wanted to test that they truly trusted Him to provide for them in the wilderness. It was easy for them to trust him when they were dying but did they trust him now that he had led them out of the depths of persecution?
What we see unfolding in the story is that some of the Israelites trusted God and as such only took what they needed to fill their stomachs each day. Others, though, acted out of their fear that they may begin to starve again soon and instead of trusting God to provide, they trusted their own ability to provide by taking more food than they needed. As a result, just as James tells us in James 5:2 their wealth of food rotted and became useless.
It may seem easy for us to brush off the idea of food wealth. Sure, we sometimes buy more food than we need, a little bit too much produce; and we have to throw out what has rotted. But that’s not really hurting anyone right?
Wrong.
I want you to think back to the start of Covid-19 when Stay at Home Orders were being predicted. Everyone flew into a panic and within days of the panic starting, our stores were sold out of food and supplies. The great 2020 toilet paper joke exists because in our personal fear of our needs not being met we depleted a stock that normally would have fit everyone's needs. Because we as a people chose to prioritize our own needs and buy more food and home supplies than we actually needed, many people went without the food and supplies they needed.
There was a day where my husband and I chose to drive into Denver, Co to pick up a bag of coffee from our favorite coffee shop. We knew we wouldn’t risk anyone's health by taking a drive and we wanted to support the small business we love so much. While we were waiting in our car for a barista to bring the bag of beans out to our car we saw a young boy heading our way. He looked like he was in middle school and with a look of desperate determination he marched right up the barista that had our coffee beans in tow. We observed with broken hearts as this young boy begged the employee to let him buy a gallon of milk from them to feed his mother and siblings. I realized that because so many people prioritized the potential of their own need, there was a family that was actually desperate to get what they did need. God bless the coffee shop in trusting that they would have enough to meet their own needs because as soon as they handed off our coffee, they went inside and willingly provided what was needed to the child.
When we hoard in a wealth of food supplies that we don’t need or already know that we won’t eat we begin to waste a beautiful resource from our God. We hoard this wealth in an underestimation of God’s provision and an overestimation of our provision for ourselves.
You don’t have to starve yourself to show that you are trusting God or to make yourself feel like you are leaving some for others. What has been provided in our stores is enough to meet all of our different needs if we take what we actually need. Take what you need and be generous in what you leave behind.
During the panic buying season, my husband and I had pressure from both of our families, on a daily basis, to go and buy extra food so we would be okay when everything shut down. We took our time conversing and praying and when we finally did go to the store we did buy extra food...just not in the way you are thinking.
We made our normal grocery list and added a few extra items that we knew wouldn’t perish and would feed us well enough if it came to it. This meant grabbing a bag of rice and an extra bag of frozen vegetables. We grabbed a little bit of extra knowing that what had would run out soon and we may not be able to take our normal trip to replace it. And the other extra food and supplies in our cart? We took what we could find and supplied it to people we knew were need in our own community. Instead of hoarding extra food for ourselves we chose to trust that God would make our normal food last so that we could try and meet a need for someone else.
James 5: 2-3
Your wealth has rotted, your moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.
The second form of wealth that James mentions is our physical possessions; “your moths have eaten your clothes.” This statement of wealth seems a little bit harder to understand how it might affect the Kingdom of Heaven and other people when in comparison to food. If you buy that extra book, those cozy looking sweatpants or a new coffee mug are you really causing someone any harm? Probably not. The danger of possessions in wealth is the heart that guides us to buy in excess and how we ultimately choose to prioritize our possessions.
When our home, that we had literally just closed on, was threatened by a wildfire that had made itself at home three miles from our doorstep, everything we had was in actual danger of being consumed within minutes. When we had our 15 minute warning to evacuate we had a choice to make; do we grab as much as we physically can, or do we grab what matters most and leave to protect ourselves and others? As we walked out our front door knowing far too well this may be the last time we ever see our home, we had a few pairs of clothes, our toothbrushes, the dog, our Bible and a box of meaningful items from our engagement and wedding.
Did we want to stay and shove as many unpacked boxes into our cars as we possibly could? Of course. But ultimately we realized that we already had what we actually needed. We had eachother. We had our precious dog. And above all else, we had a God who provides. As we walked away, even with tears threatening to overflow, we knew we had to trust that God would bring us back to our home if it was good and right. And guess what friend, He did.
Hear me when I say that over the month to come, there were random items I was so sad had gotten left behind. I actually cried, more than once, because I had left my chicken shaped mug on our counter.
Hear me when I say that I buy things I don’t need more often that I would like. I buy that cute pair of socks because I just need something to make me smile that day; if even for a second. My husband buys that random candle from the Dollar Store because he knows it will make me smile, encourage me to take a bath and tackle the seemingly impossible feet of relaxing.
None of these frivolous purchases are necessary. In fact, we tend to make unnecessary purchases almost every single day.
What it comes to though is this: are you buying that cute extra item because you like it and you’re okay with “treating yourself”? Or are you buying those extra items because somewhere in your heart there is pain, dissatisfaction, anxiety; and you need something to momentarily cover up that hole?
Are we using our possessions and our ability to continue buying possessions as a means of distraction from a deep source of dissatisfaction or distress?
I don’t want you to think that you can’t buy something you don’t need as a “treat” or “reward”. If anything, I understand more than I may want too why we need those little treats to keep us going sometimes. What I am saying, is that we have to evaluate our hearts before making those purchases and consider if they're just a form of distraction; if they are something we can put in place of bringing our hearts to our God.
James 5: 2-3
Your wealth has rotted, your moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.
The final form of wealth that James mentions is our actual finances; “Your gold and silver are corroded.” Our finances become corroded when we hoard them, in excess to ourselves, while turning our backs on needs that we could meet for other people.
Friend, I understand that we need to be wise stewards of the money that we have. Our wealth, in any form, is a good and beautiful gift from God and it’s our job to be a good steward of that gift. I understand that we live in a world where we feel a deep need to make sure we are provided for. I understand the need or desire to have a nest egg for retirement, for having funds set aside for personal or family emergencies, for planning a trip fund to go to that place you’ve dreamed about since you were a child.
I’m not asking you to suddenly throw out all of your money like it's on fire and the devil itself. Money becomes corrupted when we make it corrupted. It’s not inherently bad, but the heart that can grow behind our wealth makes it a bad thing. Our wealth is a gift to provide for ourselves and to learn to be generous and provide for others. Our wealth is a beautiful tool that when we use wisely, can be an incredible blessing to other people.
I want us to look at another story in the Bible; The Rich Young Man.
Matthew 19:16-32
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good things must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
Which ones?” The man inquired.
Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultry, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
“All of these I have kept,” the young man said, “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor. And you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
This story is well known because Jesus makes the bold statement to his disciples about how incredibly hard it is for a wealthy person to enter the Kingdom. The young man in this story was following all the commandments to the best of his ability, but when it came to it, he turned away from Christ because he couldn’t give up his wealth. I want to make a bold claim and say that this story isn’t telling us that we have to give up everything we have in order to follow our God and enter our Home someday. I truly believe that the problem in this story was less about the physical items and amount of wealth the young man had and more about the heart he had towards them.
Friends, some of Jesus’ disciples had wealth. The matter was less about the actual amounts of wealth the young man had, and more about the heart that was causing him to be unable to give it up. Jesus isn’t requiring that we give away everything we have to truly follow him. He’s requiring a generous and giving heart that would be willing to give everything away. He asked the young man to give away his possessions and wealth because he needed to realize that God was his ultimate source of provision not himself. The young man was asked to give everything away because in his heart, he was placing his wealth on a higher pedestal than our God.
Friend, nothing we have on this earth will travel to your Home with you. We have items we enjoy but in the end, everything we keep for ourselves right now will ultimately end up wasting away after our time on this earth has ended. In comparison to the incredible promises of our God and the resurrection, every single thing we have is absolutely worthless. Wealth isn’t about how much we have for ourselves. Wealth is about our ability to use the excess of gifts to serve and love on others. Wealth is a tool for us to continue our mission.
James 5:5
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
See at the root of the matter wealth can draw our hearts away from Christ. It creates an illusion that we are able to fully provide for ourselves if only we have x,y,z and that we don’t need anyone else. Friends, no matter how much money is in your bank account, no matter how nice your car is or how expensive the clothes you put on, you still need God. You still need what He freely offers to us. Anything apart from Him is an illusion that you are greater than the one who made this world; than the one who granted you breath.
There is something beautiful about the story of the rich young man and the idea that we can give away everything we have and live in full trust of God’s provision. I know that in most cases now, it wouldn’t be the wise decision to put yourself in a place of having absolutely nothing.
Our wealth is a tool. It allows us to reach out and pursue the mission in a unique and beautiful way. Yes, we can place money where it doesn't belong but ultimately, if we remember that our wealth is a good and beautiful gift from God, we can do incredible things.
Friend, you don’t have to be floating in wealth to use it as a tool for others. If we are able to find a way to serve and be generous when we have little, we will have set the heart for being able to give and serve on a whole new level when we have more.
If you have an excess of wealth, in any form, you have the beautiful opportunity to use that as a blessing to others in a way that someone else wouldn't be able to. That is a good and beautiful thing.
Let’s use what God has given us to be a blessing to others.
Thoughts For The Week
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Look through your finances and really consider where you are at. Do you feel like you have enough to meet your basic needs or are you struggling right now? Do you have more money that you know what to do with? Do you feel like you currently have a good balance?
Open your heart and thank God for the gifts of wealth that he has given you. Even when we are in a season of life where we feel like we are struggling to make ends meet, God is still standing by our side and showing us how He will provide for us.
Sometimes we are the Isralites, with just enough to make it through the day, and other times we have an excess that we can use to bless others.
Whatever the case, we are learning, growing and able to use those gifts in glorious ways.
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How can you use a form of your wealth to be a blessing to someone else?
I want to be very clear here. I am not asking you to go give away everything you have. I am not asking you to put yourself in a bad situation to prove that you are a generous person.
What I am asking, is for you to ask God how you can use the gifts he has given you.
If you have extra finances, how can you use that money to wisely serve your church or your community? Can you donate to a food drive? Can you increase your tithe at your church? Can you buy some clothes and toys to send to foster homes?
If you have extra provisions, how can you use the items you don’t need? Can you donate a used coat to provide for someone who has none? Can you use those cute cards to write letters of hope and peace to loved ones or maybe even a local nursing home?
If you have extra food, how can you provide for someone who doesn’t have as much? Can you provide some meals to someone who has been going through a hard patch? Can you make a batch of cookies to take to your neighbor with an invitation to join you at church? Can you donate your extra non-perishable food to a local food bank?
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Prayer
Lord,
I want to thank you for working in my heart this morning. For showing me the beauty in your creation so I could find peace and realize that you were calling me in a different direction with this devotion than I originally thought you were.
When we are willing to take a moment to slow down and recenter ourselves on You, You always come through and guide us to where we are meant to be.
I trust you Lord that you have guided my words this day and that I have spoken your truth to your people. I trust that you will guide my words so that I will not guide your people astray.
I thank you for my friends Lord. I thank you for the incredibly diverse histories and understandings we have. I thank you for our joys and inflictions that have guided us slowly towards you over time. I thank you that we can use our histories as a way to serve others and grow our perspectives amongst each other.
It’s a beautiful gift to turn the hard parts of life into service for another. It’s a beautiful gift to turn the best part of our life into service for another.
I pray for generous hearts Lord. I pray that we may be a people who can trust You and Your provision. That we can become wise stewards of the resources you have given us- knowing what to keep and what to use as a means to serve the Kingdom.
I pray for the hearts that have a hard financial past and are struggling to see how our wealth can actually be a beautiful gift and tool from you.
You know my heart Lord. You know it’s taken my entire life to grow a hardened heart towards wealth, and to slowly let go of that pain and broaden my perspective.
Lord, I know that if you can work my sad heart into actually desiring to give what we have away, that you can work in the hearts of my friends as well.
You are a God that loves. Heals. Serves. Provides.
You give so generously to us Lord so that we may give generously to others.
May we be good stewards of Your gifts.
In your name we pray,
Amen
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