Text: James 1:9-11
Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.
This is not the only time that the writer of James will lay it on the line for the rich. It is also interesting that as we are reading sections of James in worship, the people who select the texts have neatly bypassed these words. It is not just the rich that catch it from the writer. It is the way that some have of being rich. When our security comes from our wealth...when we use wealth to selfish ends - that is the problem. What we need to remember is that when we have wealth, we are the last people in the world to think that we using it to selfish ends or counting on it for our security. That is why the words of prophet bite so hard. They look and then tell it like it is - truth is more important than letting folks follow false gods - such as wealth. Our question (for most of us are in the area of the rich in comparison to the majority of folks) is how we will look at and how we will use our wealth. The community is very important to James. Naturally this potentially dividing power (wealth) within the community must become a uniting power. For the rich it means a constant vigil. Staying alert to the many ways our wealth takes hold of us. It is probably a good idea to have friends within the church ( not just friends) who we would invite into our lives to help us see our loyalties and evaluate how it is that we use our money. That is both a hard saying (for who does that) and it is also a freeing statement (for it is the beginning of an honest look at ourselves and what controls us).
Connection: Taking an inventory of what we have and what we can potentially have is important. Taking a look at how much energy we spend on money focused toward me and then the money I let go for the welfare of others is a daily exercise we each can do. Today is always the time to begin looking at what is enough...and how free do I become as I am more and more in touch with that simple reality - enough. Then what can I be doing with the rest?
Creator of all things, you give us the wealth of the world to manage and you place the bounty of the earth before us that we would be the caretakers of all things. Remind us of the gift of your creation and as you share this gift with us may we be as sharing and graceful as you continue to be with us. Amen.
Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.
This is not the only time that the writer of James will lay it on the line for the rich. It is also interesting that as we are reading sections of James in worship, the people who select the texts have neatly bypassed these words. It is not just the rich that catch it from the writer. It is the way that some have of being rich. When our security comes from our wealth...when we use wealth to selfish ends - that is the problem. What we need to remember is that when we have wealth, we are the last people in the world to think that we using it to selfish ends or counting on it for our security. That is why the words of prophet bite so hard. They look and then tell it like it is - truth is more important than letting folks follow false gods - such as wealth. Our question (for most of us are in the area of the rich in comparison to the majority of folks) is how we will look at and how we will use our wealth. The community is very important to James. Naturally this potentially dividing power (wealth) within the community must become a uniting power. For the rich it means a constant vigil. Staying alert to the many ways our wealth takes hold of us. It is probably a good idea to have friends within the church ( not just friends) who we would invite into our lives to help us see our loyalties and evaluate how it is that we use our money. That is both a hard saying (for who does that) and it is also a freeing statement (for it is the beginning of an honest look at ourselves and what controls us).
Connection: Taking an inventory of what we have and what we can potentially have is important. Taking a look at how much energy we spend on money focused toward me and then the money I let go for the welfare of others is a daily exercise we each can do. Today is always the time to begin looking at what is enough...and how free do I become as I am more and more in touch with that simple reality - enough. Then what can I be doing with the rest?
Creator of all things, you give us the wealth of the world to manage and you place the bounty of the earth before us that we would be the caretakers of all things. Remind us of the gift of your creation and as you share this gift with us may we be as sharing and graceful as you continue to be with us. Amen.
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