Will your wealth pass the test?
All of us accumulate treasure. What matters is if what you're saving up for yourself in heaven actually has any eternal value or not.
Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. (James 5:3)
When you think of a stereotypical “rich guy,” who comes to mind? I don’t know about you, but my mind goes to Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. He has defined what it looks like in western culture to be wealthy: cruel, self-focused, miserly. Of course, he learns his lesson at the end of the story. He learns what really matters, and it’s not money.
Sometimes, though, I think Christian folks take that stereotype as fact, though. At least as far as America is concerned, some of the wealthiest people are also among the most generous.
The church James was writing to really must have been struggling with the class status issue, since he speaks about wealth and poverty so much. But as a modern audience reading this letter today, there’s something each of us needs to consider: We are all wealthy by comparison to people of James's day.
Maybe we aren’t swimming in piles of gold coins, but not even the richest person in ancient Rome could walk down the street to buy an ice cream sundae. We have so many conveniences in our lives that we take for granted. And, more than modern conveniences, we have freedom.
And we still have the same perspective that the people James was writing to did: We place our hope in our own resources.
When trouble comes, we rely on our own strength and financial status or political influence to save us. We gather earthly resources and hoard them like treasure.
That’s not to knock the idea of being prepared. I’m a rural Midwesterner. We have a cellar full of canned goods and survival foods. But I don’t trust that a can of tuna is going to save me, just like I don’t trust that money in the bank will make a difference in eternity.
The wealth and the resources we have here on earth will fade. We can’t take it with us. That’s why our mindset must be eternal. We need to be living as though our true home is in heaven—because it is.
When you stand before God to give an account of how you lived, will the earthly wealth you accumulated stand the test of righteousness? No. Only what you have done for God in accordance with His Word will withstand His test of value. If all you have to show God at the end of time is a hefty savings account, a fancy car, or a gold watch, none of that will impress Him.
Maybe you aren’t wealthy. Maybe you don’t have power or influence. Maybe your car has dime miles on it. So what?
Do you love Jesus? Do you demonstrate your love for Him in how you serve others?
Then you, my friend, are wealthy in the truest sense.
Questions for Reflection
Why is it so tempting to trust in out own resources more than God’s promises?
What is wrong with accumulating wealth?(Is it wrong?)
How can someone who is wealthy in the worldly sense use their resources for God’s glory?
Weekly Memory Verse
