Right Attitudes toward wealth and poverty
James 1:9 – 11
Pentecost Sunday
Fairview Presbyterian Church
May 27th, 2007
We hold these truths…
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America begins
with the following sentences.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected
them with another, and to assume among the powers of the
earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of
Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.
These words stir my soul. I love reading them and hearing them read. They
articulate clearly an key element of the American republican experiment in self
government and self destiny. The Declaration of Independence is the root, the
radix, the foundation of my proud self-identity as an American. At the same time,
with due respect to Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers of America, I do
believe that they got one detail of the Declaration wrong. The Declaration
declares that the truths confessed are “self-evident.” They are not self-evident
truths, they are revealed truths. We would not know these things if the Bible had
not made things clear.
This is the first point: the concept of human equality flows from Bible
teaching.
The concept of human equality flows from Bible teaching
The idea of natural theology refers to those truths we can learn about God
and creation from a study of the natural world. These are the things which are
“self-evident” as the Declaration puts it. Things we can learn from a study of the
world about us. Psalm 50:6 tells us. The heavens declare his righteousness, for God
himself is judge! The idea is that the created order reveals insights and truths
about God, his goodness, his greatness and majesty. But while the created order
reveals some things about God, it does not, it cannot, reveal all things about
God. Indeed, the most significant truths about God would not be known to us if
God did not, in his graciousness, condescend to reveal these things to us. There
are things about the world, ourselves, and God which we could never know if
God did not teach and instruct us regarding them.
The Declaration of Independence says that the concept of human equality
is found within the natural world, that it is self-evident. But it is mistaken. In a
state of nature, the natural tendency has always been to divide the human
community into two: the nobility and the commoner; the serf and the feudal lord;
the royalty and the average man; the slave and the free; the lords of the manor
and the peasants of the earth; and so on.
And, this is still the dominant philosophy of much of the world. The religion
of Islam is explicit in its teaching that people are not equal. Islamic law has the
concept dhimmis: non-Muslim people living under the jurisdiction of Muslim law.
Dhimmis are explicitly second-class citizens: they cannot serve in public office;
they cannot testify in Muslim courts; and they must pay a special tax imposed
upon non-Muslims for the privilege of living under Islamic rule. In weighing the
truth claims of witnesses, Islamic law teaches that a Muslim woman’s word is
worth half that of a Muslim male; and that a non-Muslim’s word is weighted even
less. Here in the West we may speak of “he-said, she-said” dilemmas where it is
simply one person’s word against another’s. The witnesses in a “he-said, she
said” dilemma are equal. Our legal system is set up so that if such an impasse
cannot be resolved no legal judgment can result, without the adding of an
additional witness or corroborating evidence to one side or the other. This is not
the case in the Islamic world. In modern Pakistan there have been a number of
cases where Christian believers have been accused and convicted of blasphemy
upon the witness of a single Muslim witness. The Muslim’s accusatory word
alone is sufficient, it is given greater weight than the Christian believer’s earnest
denial.
In our natural state, the practical exercise of human equality is fragile and
tenuous. George Orwell, in his scathing novel Animal Farm, exposes the corrupt
vision of the philosophies of Communism and Socialism. At the beginning of the
story the animals list the seven commandments of Animalism, the most important
of which is that “all animals are equal.” Nonetheless, the animals on the farm
may speak about equality, but they pursue policies that enslave and burden
some for the benefit of few. Finally, at the end, the great commandment of
Animalism is revised to read, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal
than others."
The concept of human equality is one we would not know or believe if the
Bible had not taught it. It is an idea that springs from Bible teaching. We can see
this truth in the Bible passage from James before us today.
The poor believer rejoices because his status in life is elevated by the
gospel message
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
The first thing to note is the manner in which James makes reference to
one who is poor, humble, common, or lowly. James refers to the man as a
brother. In Christ the poor man’s status is elevated. The ground is leveled. He is
a brother in Christ, no matter how mean or low his status in life.
The New Testament teaching is clear that Jesus Christ has breached the
natural divisions of mankind. Paul makes this explicit in his letter to the Galatians
(3:26 - 28) 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.1 Those who are in Christ have been adopted into his family. They are
brothers in the Lord. They are sisters in the Lord. There is now a familial bond.
Practically, this means that the poor, the lowly, and the common are
elevated in their status in life. Imagine much of the world today, the masses of
humanity in our world. Our world still makes the social distinctions that have been
unchanged through the ages between the nobility and the common; the peasant
and the land owner; the workers and the owners; the leaders and the followers;
the chiefs and the Indians. In James’ address of the lowly believer in this way he
is saying that the message of the gospel is that the common man matters to God.
The common man has a vocation, a task given him by God. He has a place in
God’s family. He has a job to do in God’s economy. He matters to God. The poor
may be little noted by the world, but they are known by God.
And, the blessings offered by Christ to the common person are the same
blessings Christ offers to the rich and exalted. By the power of the gospel
message, the common man is set free by God from sin, Satan and death. The
poor should, therefore, glory in his adoption by God into the family of Christ, the
church. Both poor and rich have trials, though they are different types of trials.
But God has given to both the poor and the rich the principle thing: salvation and
the hope of eternal life. The lowly should not grieve that he lacks wealth. He
should bear patiently the challenges of life, knowing that God has redeemed him
for himself.
Thus the church will have in its membership both rich and poor, exalted
and common, the influential and the inconsequential. Poverty and status do not
destroy relationships among believers, among Christians. The shared bond in
Christ draws together men and women from diverse backgrounds. It is tougher to
see it hear in America because, given our wealth and mobility, the average
Christian passes by several churches on their way to church each Sunday. In
1The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ga 3:26-28.
other words, we choose the church we join. We will naturally tend to choose
churches where we feel comfortable and things are familiar. I am familiar with a
congregation that is different, more representative of the church universal. At this
church, on Sunday mornings, you may find in worship Iraqi and Iranian
Christians; black and white South Africans; Turks and Armenians; ambassadors
and refugees; the poorest of the poor and the CEO’s of multinational
corporations. This is the church. Those whom God calls come from all sorts of
backgrounds, races, and nationalities.
The poor are elevated by the message of the gospel. The rich believer
rejoices because that which is eternal does not disappear, even as wealth and
honor may fade away.
The rich believer rejoices because that which is eternal does not disappear,
even as wealth and honor fade away
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11
For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its
beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James was writing to Christian believers. Some of those Christian
believers were wealthy. Good Christians may be wealthy. Some Christians
voluntarily take a vow of poverty. At the same time, there is no particular virtue in
being poor. At the other end of the spectrum, some Christian communities are
suspicious of those who are materially blessed. To this understanding one can
be Christian, or one can be wealthy, but one cannot be both. But that is a
mistaken understanding. The great Jewish patriarch, Abraham, was seen to be
fabulously wealthy according to the standards of his day, yet he is also known in
the scriptures as the “father of faith.” Abraham’s example is instructive to us, for
he did not possess many of the things we take for granted in the modern world.
He lived in a tent, not a home. He did not have running water. He did not have a
car, cell phone, X-Box system or a subscription to NFL direct. What he did have
were large herds of sheep, goats, and camels; as well as slaves and servants in
abundance. By any strictly material calculation, the average middle class person
of modern America would never dream of trading places with father Abraham.
What is James getting at in his words to the rich person? To make his
intent clear he uses a vivid image of grass sprouting in the desert. Have you ever
seen pictures of what happens in the Namid Desert after a rain? Or the Kalahari
when the flood waters arrive? Suddenly life appears. Grass and flowers sprout.
The desert blooms. However, it is still a desert. A hot wind can blow and in an
afternoon all that was green will die and disappear. James’ point is to emphasize
the uncertainty of the material blessings the world can give. James’ focus is not
upon material wealth alone, but also on all of the things that typically accompany
it: honor, fame, dignity, reputation, prestige, power, authority and influence. What
he is saying is that such things are fleeting and uncertain. It is a great joy and
pleasure to possess them and enjoy them, but the pleasure may be brief and the
joy fleeting. We do not know what tomorrow brings. Riches are uncertain. One’s
job may be lost to downsizing (or, as the English put it, “you are made
redundant”); the stock market may fall; the government may inflate the currency;
a new technology may appear putting your company out of business; a hurricane
may smack; a tornado blow; or terrorists may strike. The Atkinson family moved
to Peru only a month after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. You can imagine our
surprise to meet people in Peru who had been put out of work due to the attacks
in New York! Beware of placing your faith and trust in that which does not last,
that which is passing away.
Instead, James admonishes the rich to rejoice in their humiliation. What he
refers to is that the rich and respected Christian believer ought to rejoice in the
humbling experience of being brought low by the knowledge of their own
sinfulness. Important, famous and powerful people are always being told how
important, famous and powerful they are. I read once the story of a U.S. Senator,
a Christian, who wrote of the danger and temptation of growing to believe you
deserve the fawning attention people give. Coming to true faith in Jesus Christ
requires acknowledging that we are a sinner, saved by grace. A sinner comes to
the cross of Christ empty handed. The only thing he brings is his need for
salvation. James’ point is that, for the rich person, such humiliation is a good
thing because it puts the relationship to our wealth in proper perspective.
Greatness in the Kingdom of God ought to lead to us to despise and turn from
the world. The rich learn that they cannot solve all their problems with their check
book or their trust accounts. Learn to rejoice, not in the providence of God that
made the rich man rich, but in the grace of God that makes him humble. Rejoice
not in the things you can solve with your bank account, but in those challenges
that make you turn to God afresh. Rejoice in the security of God’s promises, not
in your stock portfolio. If you trust in riches, you trust in what can be taken away.
If you trust in God you possess what can never be taken. As Jim Eliot once
wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot
lose.”
Rich and poor Christian believers are to rejoice, according to James. The
poor rejoice because God has a place for them in his purpose for the human
community. The rich rejoice because they know that they know that in Christ they
possess that which is eternal, the hope of heaven. Their riches and influence will
fade, but their inheritance in heaven is certain. Finally, James points out that rich
and poor are equal at the cross of Christ.
Rich and poor are equal at the cross of Christ
The cross of Jesus Christ is the great equalizer. At the cross, rich and
poor are equal. The ground is equal. All are sinners. All need salvation. What
power and status you had in life is of no consequence when it comes to one’s
need of salvation. Kings and queens, the Hollywood rich and famous, Amish
farmers, the New York Yankee’s starting batting line up, the students enrolled at
the local high school; all men and women, whatever their status and station in
life: before the cross of Christ, all are equal. The rich and famous must take no
pride in being rich. Rich and poor are brought to the same point of
acknowledgment that each is a sinner in need of the saving grace that Jesus
Christ offers.
Where are you this day? Have you stood before Christ’s cross, admitting
to him your need for his grace and salvation in your life? Have you turned to him
in faith? Is he the one you cling to for salvation? Has he born the punishment for
your sins? Has he dressed you in his righteousness?
Turn to Christ today. Give him you life. Place your faith in him.
Say “Amen,” Somebody.