Our Future & Our Finances
James 4:13-5:6
Main Idea: The gospel calls us to a humble estimation of ourselves rather than boasting presumptuously about the future or finances.
I. Arrogance & Future Planning (4:13-17)
James is not against wise, strategic planning (cf. Lk. 14:28-30) or an entrepreneurial spirit in general (cf. Prov. 12:11); instead, he is warning of a prideful, self-centered arrogance in our planning & pursuits.
Planning that honors God will take into account four things:
The uncertainty of the future (4:14a)
“Much of what we fear is not so much because we do not think we can endure what scares us. Most of us have seen people who have done just that. Much of our fear is rooted in mystery, that we do not know what is around the corner from us. We cannot see how everything is going to turn out for us.” ~ Russell Moore
The shortness of life (4:14b)
The sovereignty of God (4:15-16)
The call of obedience (4:17)
Our time and our planning is ultimately not our own. “Lord willing” is not a contrite, pithy saying, but the greatest reminder and comfort that we could have for our futures and our plans. Jesus showed us this in an ultimate sense (cf. Mt. 26:36-42) so we might relinquish the illusion of control of our lives while trusting God.
II. Arrogance & Financial Power (5:1-6)
Even if this section is addressed to the unbelieving rich, we are not immune to the warnings & temptations described in these verses. The dangers that James describes is a result of not simply having money, but loving money (cf. 1 Tim. 6:10)
The rich here are condemned not for being wealthy, but for misusing their wealth in at least 4 ways:
1. Hoarding (5:2-3)
Matthew 6:19–21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“God has not appointed gold for rust, nor garments for moths; but, on the contrary, he has designed them as aids and helps to human life.” ~ John Calvin
2. Defrauding (5:4)
3. Self-Indulging (5:5)
Ecclesiastes 5:10: He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
4. Oppressing (5:6)
“There is no neutrality when it comes to your relationship to and daily use of money. As you hold & use your money, you must constantly remind yourself that the holding and using of money are acts of worship. That’s just how significant the issue is. You are using your funds in the worship of yourself, even if you don’t know it, or you are using your money in the self-conscious worship of God. Your money is being invested in the building of your self-focused little kingdom of one or being offered in the interests of the grand & glorious eternal kingdom of God.” ~ Paul Tripp
2 Corinthians 8:9: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
We can “be rich toward God” when we realize that he has been immeasurably rich toward us in Jesus Christ. When Christ is the true treasure of our hearts, we can seek first the Kingdom of God with our planning, priorities, and our bank accounts, realizing what is ultimate & eternal.
