Rich Man, Poor Man

the following message by aleister begg is made available by truth for life for more information visit us online at truthforlife.org well just a prayer and then james father help us again as we study the bible that we might understand it and that any application we make of it may be true to it and that you will help us as we think as a group of individuals who fall largely on one side of this equation help us the lord to to think rightly and then to act properly for jesus sake amen well we're in verse 9 of james chapter 1. i'll just read verse 8 9 10 and 11 and if you wish to follow along in the church bible i think it's page 845 page 8 4 5. the brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position because he will pass away like a wild flower for the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed in the same way the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business now james has begun this particular letter by urging his readers as we've seen to recognize that when they face trials of various kinds it will make a huge difference if they view them from a proper perspective and the way in which we address ourselves in terms of attitude and viewpoint to a subject will largely determine the behavior that follows the approach that we take he assures the readers as we saw this morning that the wisdom that is so desperately required if we're going to think properly particularly about trials that wisdom is available for the asking and all we need to do is ask god a god who gives generously and without finding fault however he adds the caveat that we need to ask not only simply but we also need to ask properly and to ask properly is to ask in sincere faith and without doubting and not only then he says will wisdom make it possible for us to view trying and difficult circumstances from a proper perspective but it will also change the way in which we respond to our status in life and i'm increasingly convinced that in verses 9 10 and 11 james is not introducing a new theme there is a paragraph shift in the niv and there is a sense in which that's accurate in so far as it helps us in the advance of uh his discussion but i think we would do wrong by the text if we were to isolate verses 9 10 and 11 from all that has gone before particularly in this issue of wisdom and the need for wisdom because it would appear that what he's doing is giving an illustration of the way in which wisdom will change the response that we have to the circumstances of our lives if we have heavenly wisdom then we will think about our status in life our material circumstances in life in a way that is different from that which is the perspective of those who do not know the wisdom of god now in james day poverty was an issue there was no middle class in the time of james there was nothing such as we know here in the united states people tended either to be very rich or to be very poor the circumstances akin to countries that we may visit around the world where you either are in a level of society where you are able to have servants and live very well or you're in the serving class of society and you're probably going to live relatively poorly the circumstances of wealth and money are obviously important in this very practical letter of james and he is going to come back to them on a number of occasions for example in verse 5 of chapter 2 he says listen my dear brothers hasn't god chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him interestingly he says is it not true when you look around at your ranks that the vast majority are those who are poor in the eyes of the world and yet rich in faith then he says in verse 6 but you have insulted the poor is it not the rich who are exploiting you are they not the ones who are dragging you into court are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong there's a real issue here with riches and poverty and by the time he gets to chapter five he is issuing a stern and stirring warning to the rich people in the community to whom he writes who are in danger of trying to make people work for wages that are totally unacceptable and wrong there's a very contemporary ring to it but we're a long way from chapter five and we don't really need to be concerned about that tonight all i want you to see is that he is if you like introducing a subject here in 9 10 and 11 of chapter 1 to which he is going to come back and he gives to his readers a vital perspective and principle in addressing their circumstances he is pointing out that heavenly wisdom will enable both those who are poor and those who are rich to view their circumstances from a perspective that is both right and radical in essence what he's saying is that both those who are poor and rich need to look at their circumstances in light of god's big picture they need to stand back from their status in life we need to stand back from our status in life and we need to adopt heavenly wisdom in assessing how things really are so for example viewing time and the passage of time in the light of eternity we're only here for a brief moment he's going to come back to that as well in fact that was our little entree into james when on the first sunday of the year we began to look at what he says concerning the brevity of life and the frailty of life and so on and the absolute stupidity of pomposity which says we're going to do this next year and we'll achieve this and we'll achieve that the reason that's a silly perspective he says is because you're not viewing time in light of eternity in the same way to view success however we may assess it in terms of human frailty no matter how successful we might be eventually all of our successes will crumble and disintegrate and somebody will transcend whatever else we have done and thirdly to view poverty in light of the eternal riches that are made available in the gospel or we might put it this way instead of his readers thinking about their circumstances economically or socially he is urging us to think about our circumstances theologically or if you like biblically and it's going to take the wisdom of heaven in order to do that not least of all because the prevailing cultural ethos of both james's day and our own day is vastly if not totally different from what he writes the paradoxical nature of his statements here challenges most of our western world view in relationship to success financial security the future and everything besides in fact as i read this and i wonder did you find it when i was reading it in public here i find myself hearing an echo of james's brother's words in matthew chapter 6. how amazing it must have been after james was converted to go back through in his mind many of the things that his brother jesus had said which he thought was really a bunch of bunk because he didn't believe in his brother he didn't really believe uh in him at all but now he sounds so much like his brother doesn't he now he's starting to sound a terrific amount like jesus it's hard to imagine that he didn't have jesus words in matthew 6 19 and following in his mind do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal what i thought that's what you're supposed to do i thought that's what the whole life was about adam smith wrote the wealth of nations he was scottish send it to america america said this is good stuff america embraced it became arguably the finest example of financial and economic prosperity that the world has really ever witnessed and introduced the population to the idea that human existence is about what jesus says is not about do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal well what should we do store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there will your heart be also it's hard for me to go back then to verse 9 and not hear the echo of jesus words when james says the brother in humble circumstances or the poor brother ought to take pride in his high position well let's just look at it as it calls uh for us to do first of all in the word that he brings to the poor brother the brother in humble circumstances or your translation may say in low circumstances because the word for humble here actually means to be placed low humble yourselves under god's mighty hand get down low that's the word that is used so there's a wonderful sort of juxtaposition of of uh a verb each here where he says the fellow who's low should rejoice that he's high the fellow who's high should rejoice that is really low you have to stay awake for this kind of stuff don't you in other words he says verse 9 the man or the woman for that matter he's using brother here in a generic way the individual who is on the lowest rung of the social and economic ladder should take pride and be glad in their high position what what high position well if you view it simply from the perspective of time and economics and status everybody says i don't have a high position but when you view it in light of the glorious riches that jesus provides then the person on the lowest rung of the ladder has a very high position actually has a more significant position than the unconverted wealthy for all they have is kept in a bag with a hole in it and it is draining through the hole as they continue their journey through life the high position is found in the fact that this individual is the object of god's care that god looks out for him i heard a little bit of our program last week it was the end of the story of ruth one of my favorite stories in the bible i don't know if any of you heard the series again maybe i hope it sounded better than it did the first time but anyway it made me think again about that story and when i looked at this in verse 9 the brother in humble circumstances should take pride in his high position it made me think of ruth and and the reason it made me think of ruth was because you remember in chapter two of ruth when she says to naomi after they've moved back into the community let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain in other words i'm going to go out today and i'm going to see if i can find old soda cans that have a 5 cent return deal on them and i'm going to try and get a big bag of them and then i'll take them somewhere to one of those things where you put them in through the hole and somebody gives you money that's the equivalent of what she's doing she says i'm going to go out and see if i can get some grain somewhere left over grain she's not going outside i think i'll go to the mall she's not saying you know i was wondering if we might just uh meet for lunch somewhere no she says i think i'll go out and see if i can gather up some scraps and bits and pieces she is abjectly poor she is in the bottom rung of the ladder she and her companion her mother-in-law naomi don't have two dimes to rub together that's their circumstances and how she goes into the day and we can't do this because this is not a study in ruth but when boaz shows up and gives her a little bit of preferential treatment she says bowing with her face to the ground why have i found such favor in your eyes that you notice me a foreigner no explanation and then in verse 13 she says may i continue to find favor in your eyes my lord you have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant though i do not have the standing of one of your servant girls why go there because boaz points us forward boaz is the kinsman redeemer boaz points us forward to whom points us forward to jesus who comes to the likes of ruth on the lowest rung of the ladder and causes the ruths and the joes and the fred's and the bills and the grahams and the toms to ask the self-same question how come you have shown such interest in me no explanation save for the reality of god's initiative taking love and boa's action there in ruth chapter 2 points to the son of god the redeemer who sheds his blood draws to himself men and women in the routine of life men and women who are undervalued men and women who are downplayed men and women who are disregarded there is no question that in the history of the church the church has grown most significantly amongst the poor not amongst the rich not amongst sugar and valley types no not at all why because it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven because those of us who are affluent are used to buying our way into every place there's not a ticket we can't get there's not a concert we can't see there's not a right we can take and so we assume well i'm sure god must operate on the same basis he must have a frequent flyer program as well that's why when you read first corinthians 1 it's striking isn't it paul says think about yourselves he's talking about weakness he says think about yourselves when you were called not many of you were mighty not many of you were peculiarly influential he doesn't say not any he just says not many and he's right and what is the message that james is conveying here the poor he says those who are in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position that's very important the message is not if you will apply this wisdom you will become rich look at the verse doesn't say that that's what said on television largely tonight all across the airwaves when people in positions like myself telling people if you will do this then you will get this you will become rich as a result of doing this i can guarantee you this if you do this then this and so on actually what james says is not if you will do this you will become rich but rather if you think about life from this perspective you will realize that you are rich oh but look where i live yes you're rich but have you seen my tax return yes but you're rich oh but do you know that i haven't had a decent vacation yes but you're rich that's what he's saying you know i a great fan of mahelia jackson and i always think of that in relationship to the point where jesus says you know you're worth more than many sparrows it's not exactly a staggering thing to put on your cv is it but it's true so why should i feel discouraged and why should the shadows come why should my heart seem lonely and long for heaven and home when jesus is my captain my constant friend is seeing his eyes on the sparrow and i know he and i know he watches me it really is too bad but somehow or another in the last 50 years in western christianity we have not only wrapped flags around the cross but we have wrapped dollar bills around the cross and james cries out from the first century no no no secondly he gives a word to the rich brother to the rich brother if the brother in humble circumstances are to take pride in his high position what about the one who's in a high position the rich one well he should take pride in his low position okay what are you saying here james well let's be clear about what he's not saying he's not suggesting here there's any problem that he doesn't actually say there's a problem with being poor you've noted that right he doesn't say i feel dreadfully sorry for you we're going to try and get you sorted out we'll get you out of your predicament no he says the person who's in humble circumstances should rejoice in their high position again you hear the echo of the words of jesus the poor you will always have with you that's not to say we don't do anything for the sake of the poor jesus did much for the sake of the poor but it is an acknowledgment of the fact of human existence nor does he then suggest that there is anything wrong in possessing wealth he doesn't say we've got a problem with the poor therefore we're going to make you rich we've got a problem with the rich therefore we're going to make you poor is not some form of egalitarianism not some kind of first century jerusalem-orientated marxism no he acknowledges the place of the poor and says perspective is the way to deal with your status and he acknowledges the location and significance of the rich and he says perspective is the exact same way for you to deal with it if there's anything wrong in wealth it has to do with the misuse of wealth or of our propensity to depend upon wealth as if somehow or another that's where our security lies that's what jesus is saying about laying up treasures in heaven make sure he says that you're investing in the one bank that guarantees you a significant return now you see this little word to the affluent in verse 10 and 11 is striking in its impact the affluent when applying this godly wisdom will come to see what well they'll come to see actually that riches are fleeting that the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant it's probably a picture there of these winds that came down what are they called the sirocco winds akin to what happens in southern california and with the vegetation and the right kind of rainfall there would be little green shoots that would spring up and people would see them and they would look out on them in their garden and they'd say this is a wonderful thing and it looks as though they're going to be here for a while and then one afternoon just a hot blast as if somebody had opened an oven door and that which had been there in the early hours of the day was obliterated by by the time they went to bed and james says that the rich person better remember that it's not that the poor shouldn't remember it but he gives a particular word to those who are rich reminding his readers that we are frail as a summer flower the wind blows and it's gone you remember the man who got it wrong jesus spoke of him in luke chapter 12. he called him the rich fool he didn't apply this wisdom jesus said watch out be on your guard against all kinds of greed a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions and he told them this parable the ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop and he thought to himself what shall i do i have no place to store my crops i suppose he could have given some of them away couldn't he then he said this is what i'll do i'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones that's all right he was free to do that and there i'll store all my grain and my goods that's okay that's his prerogative after all he was successful enough to have all of this provision and i would say to myself you have plenty of good things laid up for many years now it's getting a little shaky take life easy eat drink and be merry but god said to him you fool this very night your life will be demanded from you then who will get what you have prepared for yourself what was this problem it was fool's wisdom fool's wisdom now god's wisdom that's why the song got banned as i've told you a hundred times now by ray stevens in the 60s the mr businessman song because of the striking nature of the lyrics spending counterfeit incentive wasting precious time and health placing value on the worthless disregarding priceless wealth you can wheel and deal the best of them and steal it from the rest of them you know the score their ethics are a bore just take care of business mr businessman before it's too late and the reaction of course to that was ray stevens is a bad little man and probably need to send mr mccarthy to find him and ferret out the nonsense between his ears but wealthy believers says james are to cultivate a correct attitude to material possessions if they're going to use them wisely if we're going to use them generously if we're going to use them for kingdom business james is not alone in this paul addresses it doesn't he remember when he urges upon timothy the importance of speaking with directness to those under his care he says to him towards the end of his first letter command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth which is so uncertain but to put their hope in god who richly provides us with everything for and for our enjoyment command them to do good to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life see true riches can never be in earthly banks or vaults or portfolios real wealth doesn't consist in the abundance of our possessions when we grasp this then the poor man is able to look at his less than super circumstances and continue in the journey of faith because his eyes have been opened to all that is awaiting him in heaven the rich man by contrast goes on with god despite all the temptations and all the snares that are directly related to the fact of his affluence because in his case god has opened his eyes to the hollowness of earthly stuff see so the wisdom of god comes to the poor man to show him the vastness of what he has in christ and the wisdom of god comes to the rich man to show him the hollowness of everything that he might be tempted to use as a basis for significance this is actually a very daunting area isn't it it's not easy to address speak about it's actually relatively easy to pontificate on it's much harder to live there's no question that james comes down heavily on the side of the issue of the rich man it's almost as if the brother of of low esteem gets off quite lightly and we noted one man who got it wrong on the high end the rich fool and i want to end with one man who got it wrong on the low end who a chap by the name of gehazi now just draw your attention to this and we're through this where gahazi comes into the scene is uh as the servant of elisha the man of god naaman was a prosperous man you'll remember who had leprosy and he went to see the servant of god and as a result of his being cured the servant of god offered him that is elisha offered him uh a bunch of stuff and elijah says no i don't need a bunch of stuff i won't accept a thing and even though naaman urged him he refused and gehazi is with him and when this little scenario is concluded and elisha says go in peace and naaman had traveled some distance gehazi the servant of elisha the man of god said to himself my master was too easy on naming this aramaic and by not accepting from him what he brought as surely as the lord lives i will run after him and get something from him so gahazi hurried after name and when name and saw him running towards him he got down from the chariot to meet him is everything all right he asked oh everything's all right has he answered my master flat out lie my master sent me to say two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of ephraim could you please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing well of course why don't you take two talents said naaman and he urged gehazi to accept them you can see guys go oh no i know and i think one would be enough and so he's going give me three give me three no i think i will be fine with that and naaman urge them go ahead guys you take two talents of silver two bags and two sets of clothings and give them to your two servants and then he passed them on and the two servants walked ahead of him and gehazi came to the hill and he took the things from the servants and he put them away in his house and he sent the men away and they left and then he went in and stood before his master elisha it's a great moment it's a sort of pregnant moment you just see him coming in where have you been gahazi elisha asked oh your servant didn't go anywhere how's he answered but elisha said to him was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you is this the time to take money except clothes olive groves vineyards flocks herds or men servants and maidservants what's up gahazi don't you like your position as a servant don't you believe that god can look after you do you really need to go chasing this guy down squirrel and money out of him naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever and gehazi went from elijah's presence and he was leprous as white as snow so paradoxically not only can the weak say they're strong but the poor can say they're rich in light of god's wisdom without jesus and without the bible and without the holy spirit there is no way we can ever get to terms with this and even when we've studied it we still have to live it so let's just pray that god will help us to live it father i think the big temptation in this is for us to try and apply it to the other person so if we find ourselves on the low end of the ladder we want immediately to tell the people a few rungs up listen this is what you're supposed to be doing and all your stuff's going to burn up and and so on but in actual fight we're supposed to look at ourselves and our lives in light of the amazing provision you've made for us in jesus and for those of us who've been entrusted with the responsibility of that which is significant in financial terms and when we think that probably a billion people in the world are making less than a dollar a day we had to be real clear about which side we fall down in this equation so god since you've given us so much help us to not misuse it or to depend upon it but to use it in such a way that will it be invested for the kingdom of god and for lasting treasure the kind of treasure that none but your children will ever know we humbly pray in jesus name amen this message was brought to you from truth for life where the learning is for living to learn more about truth for life with aleister begg visit us online at truthforlife.org

Channel: Alistair Begg

Views: 38

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Christian Thinking, Materialism, Money, Possessions

Id: 76mYQF9dKLM

Length: 34min 54sec (2094 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021