salguod.net

James 5:1-6 – This passage ought to cut to the heart of Americans who, largely, live in a level of wealth. We may not feel it, but we are wealthy compared to much of the world. Look around at what our main complaints are. High gas prices when most in the world will never have a car. Cel phone coverage, internet speeds, road conditions, traffic and other problems that much of the world only dream of having. most of our laments are about luxuries. Few in this country worry about food or shelter. So what James says in James 5:1-3 ought to be read with sobriety:

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

We are the wealthy, what are we doing with it? Are we primarily taking care of our selves, looking for more comfort and more ease, or are we using it to help others? Frankly, it’s very easy to justify ourselves in this matter, as it is to condemn others with even more than we have. I believe that modest living has different meaning in different cultures. Those in 3rd world countries can live on far less than we can here, but that’s does not excuse us from living simply and being generous.
The bottom line is, as far as I’m concerned, God is going to hold American (and other first world0 Christians accountable for what we’ve done with our wealth. Are you prepared for that? Am I? Scary to think about.
James 5:12 – James calls us to be genuine, let our yes be yes and our no be no. I’m amazed at how much scheming and hedging goes on in the world.
We watch Survivor at our house. We enjoy the competition of it, and the gamesmanship. The game, however, brings out one’s character. Many a player has commented that ‘in the game’, the rules are different. The claim to do things there – lie, betray allegiances – that they would never do outside ‘the game’. They say they have to, to be competitive.
Folks tend to live that way every day it seems. The rules are different, depending on the situation or the game being played. There’s the work game, the school game, the family game and even the church game. Each one requires a different version of themselves. It has to get exhausting, putting on each of these roles and keeping track of the rules in each. Which one contains the real self?
James calls us to play no games. Be true to who we are, let our genuineness shine and let everyone see us for who we really are. Let not the promise of money or fame or power trick into abandoning our rules, his rules, for their sake. We follow one man, and his way applies to us wherever we are.
James 5:16 – This goes hand in hand with verse 12. We need to be open with our lives, sins and all. Let other Christians in that we can be healed. People like to pretend that they don’t have sin, or they give it lip service with a chuckle. James calls us to open wide our hearts, and to bare all to our brothers and sisters, that we may be known and be helped. It’s hard, it takes a tremendous amount of trust. When we are that open, we are quite vulnerable to being hurt. The benefits are enormous, however.