Have you been occupied by the pursuit of wealth at the expense of your relationships? James teaches us that the pursuit of wealth at the cost of relationships is spiritual adultery and idolatry. Through the next four days, we will learn how to repent of our failings, submit to God, and allow Him to lift us up.
Undeceptions
Day 1
Scripture: James 4:1-6
The high price of the pursuit of wealth
The first two verses are surprising in their description of what was going on in James’ audience. James uses hyperbole and metaphor to describe what is essentially the breakdown of relationships in the community.
This breakdown has its origin in—you guessed it—money. Some of these believers craved wealth so much that they were willing to tread on others to get it and spend it all on pleasures (verse 3). It all sounds disturbingly contemporary. These believers were committing one of the most offensive acts in the Bible: pursuing wealth at the expense of relationships.
According to verse 4, those who love wealth more than human beings are spiritual adulterers, even worse, they are enemies of God. The Bible teaches that there is much in the world that is beautiful, beneficial, and pleasing to God (Gen 1:31; 1 Tim 6:17). Yet, it also teaches that any world-system which pursues wealth at the expense of relationships is hell-bound. James says that choosing to befriend that ‘world’ is an act of infidelity towards our Creator. God is jealous when he sees our adulterous affair with the world. What a powerful thought!
Verse 6 quotes Proverbs 3:34 reminding us that God opposes the proud, i.e., someone who rejects James’ message but gives grace to the humble, i.e., someone who accepts James’ message. No matter how bad some of James’ audience had become, ‘grace’ is always available for the humble.
Greed as adultery and idolatry
In describing the pursuit of wealth at the expense of relationships as spiritual ‘adultery’, James strikes a theme that resounds through the New Testament: riches can be a rival ‘god’ seducing God’s people away from their true devotion. As Jesus said, “you cannot serve both God and Money” (Matt 6:24). Or as Paul said, “greed is idolatry” (Col 3:5). To pursue wealth is to worship another god. According to James, it is to commit adultery with another lover.
Wealth per se is not the problem. It is the chasing after wealth “to spend what you get on your pleasures” (4:3) that amounts to spiritual adultery and idolatry. Acquiring money solely to dress in great clothes, eat at good restaurants, holiday in beautiful locations, and fill the home with modern comforts: this, says James, is a betrayal of our Creator.
Why? Because God has granted the gifts of his creation not for individual satisfaction but for enhancing human relationships. Relationships are the true currency of life. Not using our provisions for their intended purposes is a rejection of the Provider. Of course, the rich are not expected to become poor, but to be “rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (1 Tim 6:18). We are to use our resources relationally. What else could loving your neighbor as yourself mean in connection with money?
Day 2
Scripture: James 4:7-10
The importance of submitting to God
The words “Submit yourselves, therefore to God” are like a heading over everything that follows. True submission involves all of the things mentioned in verses 7-10. Firstly, it involves resisting the devil, i.e., rejecting Satan’s perversion of God’s ways. Again, we have to remember that the devil is not only seen in the occult but also, and perhaps especially, in a lifestyle that values money more than our neighbor. Resist the devil, says James, ‘and he will flee’.
Submitting to God also involves ‘drawing near’ to him. What James asks of us is not some ‘lefty’ rejection of the habits of the rich; it is a personal move toward God himself, allowing him to have his way in us.
Next, submitting to God involves washing our hands and purifying our hearts (verse 8). These are classic Old Testament expressions for the repentance that leads to God’s cleansing and mercy. James isn’t just trying to alert us; he wants us to find the fullness of God’s forgiveness.
Finally, submitting to God will often involve a godly sorrow for our wrongdoing: “Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom” (verse 9).
Then comes the wonderful promise of verse 10: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Those who submit to God, who humble themselves before him, will be granted a high place in God’s eyes. Some in James’ audience had indeed pursued wealth at the expense of relationships, but the Lord’s brother wanted to remind them that God stands ready to cleanse the impure, to forgive the sinner, to lift up the humble.
Degrees of repentance
Some of us should read this passage simply as a reminder not to make the mistake of pursuing wealth and pleasure at the expense of relationships. We are to remain humble before the Lord and to continue resisting the devils’ features of the world.
Others will probably need to do more than just remember these lessons. You may look back on the last month or year and realize you have lost the biblical focus. You have concentrated on work, renovation, or the wardrobe instead of on what matters to the Lord. In whichever way is appropriate to your situation, ‘draw near to God’ and ‘purify your heart’.
It is entirely possible that some need to hear James’ words with precisely the force and consequence he originally intended. You may be living at a great distance from God, daily pursuing wealth and pleasure at the expense of relationships.
James’ plea—our plea—is that such people turn back to the Lord and take hold of the grace he extends to the humble. Despite all the warnings and commands in the book of James, this is ultimately an epistle of grace. It is designed to highlight our errors so that we cast ourselves not on our moral capabilities—which are few—but on the Lord’s capacity for mercy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Day 3
Scripture: James 4:11-12
The perils of judging
The words ‘slander’, ‘speak against’ and ‘judge’ basically mean the same thing in this context. They all refer to condemning someone publicly. To judge in this passage is not simply to discern something as wrong, but to write someone off and, in this case, to do so openly.
When we judge in this manner we end up ‘judging the law’ itself (verse 11). The ‘law’ here refers either to Jesus’ specific command not to judge (Matthew 7:1) or to the royal law to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (James 2:8). The point is the same either way: to condemn your brother or sister is to disregard something Jesus himself taught. Who would be so bold? Especially since God is the only Lawgiver and Judge.
Judging with discernment
When the Bible warns against judging others, it is not forbidding the formation of critical opinions about certain actions, ideas, or people. In some parts of the church today, Jesus’ warning against judging is sometimes used to justify accepting behaviors the Bible condemns. For instance, I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard people say, “Who are we to say homosexuality is immoral. Didn’t Jesus say ‘Do not judge, lest you be judged’?
The reality is, the Bible regularly urges us to assess the rightness/wrongness of certain teachings and practices. ‘Judging’ in this sense is an important part of Christian living. The judgment that is condemned in the Bible is the type that seeks to write people off for their failings. To elaborate on the previous example, not judging the gay community does not involve approving of homosexual behavior; it involves refusing to condemn or speak ill of our homosexual friends. Fulfilling the biblical command not to judge involves recovering the lost virtue of tolerance, the rare ability to treat with respect and kindness someone with whom you deeply and rightly disagree.
Speaking with grace
A key concern of these verses is slander within the Christian community. James is calling for unity and respect in the way we speak to or about our Christian brothers and sisters. Again, this doesn’t mean we have to agree with each other about everything; it just means we should speak with love and respect. There have been countless times when petty squabbles and in-fighting over relatively minor issues have split Christian communities. The Lord must find this deeply distressing.
It is not just folk-wisdom to ask yourself: “Are the words I am about to speak uplifting and true?” Very often, such self-censoring can temper our speech and rightly change the tone of our conversations. James reminds us that God takes our words about each other seriously.
Day 4
Scripture: James 4:13-17
Merchants on the move
No one could have missed whom James was referring to when he wrote: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money’.” These are the merchants, and in the first century, these guys were on the move. Merchants had been around for millennia, but with the phenomenal success of the Roman empire, first-century merchants were riding an unprecedented wave of materialism and decadence. These fellows were as desperate for the dollar or denarius as what we observe today.
There is nothing wrong with the entrepreneurial spirit: the famous woman of Proverbs 31 is praised for her business sense (Prov 31:13-24). The problem is that merchants, particularly the successful ones, were prone to arrogance. They were moving up the social scale, waving smugly at those they passed. To all this, James responds in his familiar style: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (4:14).
James is right. The precious stock could be shipwrecked on the way from Egypt, the merchandise could be raided on the way to Ephesus, and the households of Rome could find a cheaper price from another merchant. Our lives—even the successful ones—are simply ‘mist’ appearing and disappearing without a trace.
Because of all this, believers should think and act as those who live under the rule of God, not the reign of money. We should say “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (v.15). This is not a legalistic requirement or superstitious habit, but a healthy safeguard against the boasting often associated with the upwardly mobile.
Keeping aspirations in check
Merchants were the ‘aspirational’ class of ancient times, those who longed for more wealth and made plans to achieve it. Nowadays, aspiration for wealth appears to be the default outlook. Our hearts cry out for just a little more status, just a little more travel, and just a little more money.
Aspirations like these are not inherently wrong, but they are very frequently accompanied by arrogance. James urges us to live under the banner: “if it is the Lord’s will.” All of my sleeping, waking, earning and breathing comes from God’s hand. James’ point is that we should think, act, and talk like we know that. To this end, may we recommend that all of us think about reinstating the habit urged in James 4:15. When talking about our holidays, business transactions, employment opportunities, or any other hoped-for achievement, why not add the caveat, “God willing”! It is only a small thing, and of course, it has to reflect an underlying attitude, but even this small token provides a reminder to you and those around you that everything is in God’s hands, and that you live under his rule not the rule of the dollar.