to have enough money so that I could gracefully retire when the day comes. 1 would like to go around visiting small churches not able to give an offering and hold Bible conferences for them. What a tremendous blessing this would be. Few ministers have ever found themselves with such a delightful prospect. I feel it would be a wor thy objective. You see, God is not opposed to those who have ac quired enough surplus cash to live comfortably. This is not a sin. The burden of this scripture is to warn people about misusing their money. In calling for the attention of his rich contemporaries James speaks prophetically. He anticipates the miseries which will come upon the wicked rich. The day of reckoning is not far off. Christ is coming again! We will all have to give an account as to how we have handled the stewardship with which God has entrusted us. James implies that the world system of things will soon pass away. The political, social, and economic structure of man is doomed to destruction since it is based only upon materialism. The temporary pleasure and security which the rich may seem to enjoy are simply an illusion for a few years. After that it will be all over. There are no pockets in a shroud. When a man dies, whether he is rich or poor, he cannot take one single thing with him. Our eternal destiny depends on what we do with Jesus Christ in this life. The Bible is realistic in its presentation of this tremendous truth. James says, "weep and howl" (vrs. 1). This speaks of violent grief (Isaiah 13:6). The Jews of Jerusa lem experienced the loss of all
their possessions when the Roman conqueror Titus swept in to con quer them in 70 A.D. In Bible times times there were three main sources of riches: food stuffs, gar ments and precious metals. While James does not mention these three by name his description cer tainly includes all three of these assets. The riches of those who are ungodly are absolutely worthless in the light of eternity. This in cludes those treasures which seem to be of greatest value and of the most enduring quality. Gold and silver are only temporary (vrs. 3). We too, need to be careful. There is nothing wrong with being rich providing you came by your wealth honestly. The danger is improper use against which we must always be on guard. James is quite concerned, and rightly so, about the proper use of money. Our stewardship must al ways be of the type which is pleas ing to the Lord. Evidently the rich men of the first century perpetu ated grace injustices. They acquired their influence and affluence by oppressing their employees. Then they forgot or ignored the needs of the less fortunate around them. Such tragedies also occur today. There has always been trouble be tween labor and management. Christian employees today scarcely need to trust God for their needs. They can always appeal to the un ion, or stage a strike if they do not get what they want. The Christian employer likewise has vital respon sibilities toward his employees. As the song explains, during James' day, "The rich got richer, while the poor got poorer." There were those determined to squeeze every pos sible penny out of people. Unpaid _______Page 41
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