James 4. 13 - 5. 12 The Rich, the Poor, and the Short-sighted

1 Who are the rich?
Who is James speaking to when he says 'Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"'?  He is speaking to the rich, who have an ability to make plans.
1. They have freedom of choice.  They have options. They have the possibility of going to another town, setting up shop there... Listen, the more money you have, the more choices you have.  If you are able to choose where you live, where you work, when you retire, you are one of the better-off people in our world.  Let's just think about house prices in Rosyth. If you can raise £230.000 you can buy any house that's on the market in Rosyth. If you have between £70,000 and £100,000 you can buy an average terraced house.   For £45000 you can get a one bedroom flat. But if you can't raise £45,000 you have to rent somewhere.  Less money, less choice.  And that is repeated hundreds of times...
2. They have predictability.  They can be pretty sure about the outcomes of their financial dealings.   There is a sense of security.  If they go to another town, they don't have to worry about how to survive. I heard of a man who became the riches guy in a town in America.  One day, when he had made his millions, he bragged, "When I first came to this town, I had all I owned in one suitcase." But what he didn't mention was that the suitcase contained several hundred thousand dollars in government bonds and cash.  The rich can feel secure: mo matter what happens, they will be OK.  They are not going to be made homeless. They are not going to starve.
3. They are full of confidence for the future.   They are confident in their powers to trade and make money.  Their circumstances give them a strong sense of self-belief, which stands them in good stead in lots of ways.  They can convince other people to invest in their business. They can sell.  They can think clearly and quickly.

If you have choices, a measure of security, and of confidence, that puts you among the rich.


2. Rich and short-sighted
But James says to this rich person: as you busily make your plans, just remember you are a mist that appears and then vanishes, a Firth of Forth haar that disperses as soon as the sun gets hot.  We can be short-sighted and need to perspective of eternity.  We have to recognize that there is something wrong with a self-sufficient and self-centered life.
1. We need to remember that we are mortal.  When I was a kid, it was quite common for Christians, particularly the older generation to say "God willing" (or DV meaning deo volente) when they were talking about future plans.  It seemed then, and still seems, rather quaint. It might be good to apply the principle.  Celtic Midday prayer has a line that says "Teach us O Lord to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom..."  We need that in our arrogant and self-sufficient society. However the lesson goes deeper...
2. Instead of just saying "God willing" we need to bring God actually into our planning. Surely other things than death, should make us change our plans: like God saying, "I have another plan for your life!"  It's a reminder of the importance of asking God to lead us and guide us.  Last summer when we went down to Gloucester for Josh & Cass's wedding, we planned to have a week or so on holiday, and to visit friends in west Wales. We were going to go to Church on Sunday Morning, visit our closest friends in Gloucester later on the Sunday, then head off on Monday to Pembroke.  But as the wedding day wore on, Pam began to get a sore throat and to feel cold.  She managed to go to Church on Sunday morning but went back to the guest house where we were staying and went to bed feeling really quite feverish and ill and we had to head straight back home.  I realised at the time that my frustrated plans were just that: my plans.  We hadn't taken them to God.  Instead of just doing what we want to do, let's get in the habit of saying, "What do you think Lord?"
3. But sometimes we don't even have to ask. We can check our plans against what God says in his word.  James says, "whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."  If we know the good we should be doing, and we don't do it - maybe because we are too busy making a fortune - it is sin.  God expects us to use our resources for the benefit of others.  James reflects the teaching of Jesus when he writes to the rich in this way.  See Matthew 25. 31-45.  Jesus tells us that God will judge people on the basis not just of whether we have trusted Jesus as Saviour, but on the basis of whether we have taken the opportunity to do something for the poorest of the poor. If you know what God's word says, and you see the opportunity, and you don't do it, it's sin.

3. Judgement
But there is worse to come.  In chapter 5, James warns the rich: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl ... Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten."  It's s prophetic past tense. James is so confident about this future reality, that he talks about it as though it was already happening. God judges the rich for a luxurious lifestyle obtained at the expense of the poor. They hoard what they should share.  James criticized the rich for storing up treasures in the last days.  They commit extortion and fraud; for living in self-indulgence while condemning and murdering the innocent.   The day-labourer had in Bible times - as they often have today - a struggle.  The Old Testament law says The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning (Lev 19. 13); and You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin. (Deut 24. 15)

Harsh?  Maybe, but just prophetic harsh.  James goes back to the Old Testament Prophets. See Isa 58. 6-10; 61. 8. Amos 5. 21-24; Micah 6. 8 ("justice" appears 28 times in Isaiah.). God cares about matters of international justice.  William Wilberforce struggled over two hundred years ago to bring an end to slavery; yet slavery still exists in the United Kingdom today.  People are trafficked into this country for the sex industry. Some of those who work picking vegetables and fruit in the UK are treated as barely more than slaves.  Cheap clothing made in the Far East is sometimes made by child labour or bonded workers who are paid in kind rather than in cash.  Tea, coffee and chocolate are harvested and processed on estates where often there is scant attention given to the wellbeing of workers, including children, in cottage industries where small growers struggle to receive a fair price for their produce.  We are all part of that. We like to buy cheap clothes and food.

Now listen, I know that there are people in this church for whom fair trade is a luxury choice.  People who literally can't afford to buy anything but the cheapest item in the shops. But I want to suggest that if we can, we should respond to the issues of world poverty.  I want to suggest a simple phrase: "If you're able, check the label." Sometimes we have no choice. Another item just doesn't exist. Sometimes we just don't know; the information isn't available. Sometimes we can't afford it.  So if you're able, check the label. We maybe can't do everything. But we can do something, either by how we spend, by how we share,  or by how we speak.

© Gilmour Lilly March 2012