FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS, volume 9, number 26, July 1, 2010

But the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, James 1:10.

The Trial of Riches

Maybe you are like me—there are times when the supreme desire of my heart is to give myself wholly and unreservedly to Jesus, to hold nothing back, to be lost in the wonder of His glorious grace, to devote my waking hours to a hot pursuit of Him. But then I find myself caught up in taking care of my stuff—cutting it, mowing it, blowing it, watering it, sweeping it, moping it, repairing it, and calling the Salvation Army to take it away. It is true that God gives us all things richly to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). Every good thing bestowed comes from God (James 1:17). So we should be thankful for these material blessings. At the same time, can we not agree that these often mitigate kingdom zeal! And then I can become so easily sidetracked by my worldly affections. I tend to follow Alabama football (especially since they are so good right now) and the Boston Red Sox with too much zeal. When the Red Sox blow a late lead it bothers me way too much. And then I realize what a wimp I can be. I like my comfort. Trips to developing nations without the food I like, without hot showers, clean beds, or air conditioning reveal softness in my flesh I wish I did not have. When I have these conflicting emotions I become very frustrated. Why must the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things choke out the seed of gospel holiness (Mark 4:19)!

James commands us to consider all our trials with joy. I have written earlier about what this means so I shall not repeat it here.¹ He begins with a general statement of trials (James 1:2), but he gets specific in James 1:9-11. He speaks of the trial of poverty and the trial of riches. There is a clear structure to James’ words. He is writing his epistle to move the church back to the glory of Pentecost, some twenty or so years earlier, a height from which they had fallen. He wants to see the church regain her pursuit of Biblical holiness and he lays out the pathway for this holiness in James 1, showing that trials and temptations are normative, and while God is present in every trial, it is also true that Satan is right there behind Him!

Why is wealth a trial? First, by wealth James does not merely mean financial wealth. He says in verse 9 that the brother of humble circumstances is to boast of his high position. Clearly he has more in mind there than financial poverty, for why would he say humble circumstances instead of poverty, if that is what he meant? Likewise, to follow the contrasting statements, he means here more than financial wealth, though this is certainly included. He ups the ante quite a bit on the danger of wealth in James 2 and James 5. But for now, he means riches of any kind. It could include one’s looks, gifts, position, or health. You name it! But why is wealth a trial to endure? For at least two reasons! One, it can tempt people to think the temporal is all there is. Jesus is alluding to this in Matthew 19:23ff when in response to the disciples’ dismay at the rich young ruler rejecting Christ’s overture to sell everything and follow him, He says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.” If we are not careful, we can become like a newborn infant whose life is all about the present. As long as he has a clean diaper and his mother’s breast he is “good to go.” Wealth enables people to think that what they see now is all there is. That’s because they can buy what they want. No need to wait! Jesus warned a man who was concerned about being ripped off by his brother to beware, to be on his guard against every from of greed, for even when one has a lot of stuff, his life still does not consist of his possessions (Luke 12:15). And second, wealth can deceive you, even moving some toward greed and oppression. The rich always face the temptation of thinking they received what they have by their sheer hard work alone. Plenty of people work hard but don’t benefit financially like they do. James has harsh words for the rich who oppress the poor and we must be extremely careful that we do not fall into pride, greed, and insensitivity that can lead to oppression (James 5:1ff).

Alright then, what is the solution? How do we handle the trial of riches? James tells the rich man to glory in his humiliation. Why is he humiliated? Because he will not have his stuff for long! James says that like flowering grass his riches will fade away. If he learns what the poor man should know, then he can rejoice. Why? Because they are both in the same boat! But why should a rich man boast in such a humiliation? Because there will come a time when the tension and danger of pursuing the cares of the world, those things that mitigate kingdom zeal, will no longer be a distraction, and he will have what he really wants—the Lord Jesus in His fullness!

When will that be? Well, again consider my life as a paradigm for yours. I have all my stuff. I love to travel. I love my books. Now only God knows how and when I will die but there’s a good possibility I will die after some prolonged illness. Most people die that way in our country. So, there I am—reduced to one room in my house. No more travel. No more preaching. No more reading. No more Red Sox baseball or Alabama football. Hopefully I will have my wife, children, and grandchildren around me, but even then, as the end draws hear, these things will fade into the background. Then I will have what my regenerate heart has always longed for—the Lord Jesus standing in heaven, waiting on me, ushering me into His glorious presence forever. At that point the frustration of being sidetracked by lesser things will be over. Nothing else will matter!

How, then, should we live now? Francis Schaeffer used to say that only two things last for eternity—the Bible and the souls of people. So invest your life in both. Here’s what I suggest. What do you want people to say about you at your funeral? These things come pretty close to what you really value. What is important then ought to be important now. Why not spend more time with God and less time with American Idol, more time with the Bible and less time with People Magazine, more time with your spouse and less time with your work, more time with your children and grandchildren and less time on your hobbies, more face time with your friends and less Facebook, more time helping the needy and less time helping yourself, more time giving your money away and less time hoarding it, more time serving others and less time serving yourself. Remember the obvious—you cannot take it with you, so rejoice and look expectantly to the day when Jesus will relieve you of these distractions and you will look fully into His wonderful face.

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1 See my devotionals for April 29 and May 6, 2010 archived at <www.christcpc.org>

FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS is a weekly devotional by Reverend Al Baker, pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, Connecticut.

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