James 5:9

NIV: Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

The Message: Friends, don't complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.

It is clear we are living in the End times, that it will not be long before Jesus returns.  It may be in my lifetime, then again, it may not .  After all, as Peter says, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (2 Petere3:8, NIV).   But whenever that day may be, are we really living as if it could happen today, tomorrow, next week?

It is so easy to be in the world, to behave like everyone else, to get so engrossed with the daily routine, breakfast, school run, work, and so on.  The routine may be different for each one of us, but in reality, do we give God a thought during the day?  Does our behaviour reflect the fact that we are Christians? Do we demonstrate the love of Christ by our thoughts, our words, our deeds?  Are our lives so very different from those who are not believers?  Do we stand out, stand up, make a difference?

Very often, probably nearly all of the time, I fear my life is no different from those who do not even believe in God.  Life can be so busy, hectic with one demand after another on my time and never enough hours in the day to get everything done.  It is so easy to become engrossed in the world, noting every word, every action of others and pulling apart their motives, their reasons for whatever they do.  We can get so wrapped up in our own world, our own worries and problems, we don't notice when others are hurting.   Even worse, we can misconstrue what someone has said or done (or even picking on the things they have not said or done) and imagine they are criticising us, laughing at us, not doing their fair share of the work. 

But one thing I have come to realise with time is that God never does leave is.  He is always, always by our side, even when it seems He is further away than ever before.  He is watching, listening, seeing all things, noticing even the snide remarks we utter under our breath or even say in our minds but never speak.  He knows when we find fault with others.  He knows when we criticise others (even silently), when we sit and feel sorry for ourselves, thinking the world and his neighbour are against us.  He see all things, and knows all things.  He knows the right and wrong of each and every situation, and He knows why people say or do whatever it may be that has upset us.

How can we judge others for the casual remark they made that hit us to the core, when we may not know that they are struggling to cope with a parent with dementia, that they have just lost their family dog, that their home is about to be repossessed, that a close friend or family member has just been diagnosed with cancer?  As a result, they came out with that thoughtless remark because their mind was concentrating on what was happening in their life.  What about the times when we feel that everything falls on our shoulders, all the time, and there is no one prepared to help.  They are all a lazy bunch of self centred, idle.... Well, I am sure you can fill in the missing words!

When we grumble about others, when we moan about what they have or have not done or said, we become bitter, twisted, especially if that is all we focus on.  I know the times when things have gone on here, and I feel hard done to, put upon, taken for granted.  It is so easy to start criticising others, even if it is only in my own mind and then I start feeling sorry for myself, even begin to feel like a martyr, with everyone against me.  Then the hurt begins to solidify and I end up losing my temper, being cross and crabby for no apparent reason.

So James tell us to watch out, to not grumble against one another, because that is the start of the slippery slope,  when we listen to the lies of the enemy, twisting everything, and he drags us further and further down the path that takes us away from God.

1 Peter 5:8 Be self- controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)

We need to always be alert, always be on guard because the devil is out to get each and every one of us.  This might sound a bit drastic, unlikely, after all, why would he bother with you and I?  He bothers because God loves us, and the devil does not want that.  He wants us to suffer the same fate as he will, being cast into the lake of eternal fire and he is determined to take as many of us as possible down there with him.

When we judge others , when we criticise them for doing something that we know is a sin, when we pull them to pieces either to their faces or behind their backs, aren't we doing something that only God has the right to do?  What gives us the right to judge and condemn others?  What makes us so superior, so "holier than thou", that we can criticise others for doing the very same things we do ourselves?

We need to treat others as would wish to be treated ourselves, to demonstrate the love of Jesus by all we do and say.  Not always easy when someone comes out with a side remark when all you have done is say "hi".  But if we retaliate in kind, if we give as good as we get, then we will be judged ourselves, because Jesus is there at the door, watching, and He will judge each one of us. 

I don't know about you, but I would far rather hear Him say "well done thou good and faithful servant" than "get thee behind me Satan" and proceed to go through each and every time I have done or said something unkind and cruel, and the times I have not done or said something I should have done.

James 5:7-8

NIV: Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.  You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

The Message: Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.

James' letter was written to the scattered Jewish Christians who were living amongst the Gentiles in the Mediterranean world because of persecution.  Imagine having to flee your home because you knew you would be killed if you stayed there. Having to take all your belongings (or as many as you could carry) and just run for your lives, no matter what the age of the family members - from the youngest babe in arms to the frail and elderly.  The one thing you would be longing for would be the return of Jesus to make everything right.

It's been 2,000 years now, and His return is still awaited.  Yet doesn't it tell us in the bible that Jesus will return?

Matthew 24:30-31 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Mark 13:26 (NIV) At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NIV) May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Just as the believers scattered throughout the world needed to have patience 2,000 years ago, so we need to have patience now.  It is clear from all that is going on around us that we are living in the End Times:

Luke 17:22-29 (NIV) The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.  Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.  Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

Luke 21:8-11 (NIV) He replied: Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.  When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.  Then he said to them: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

We have nations rising against nation, kingdoms against kingdoms - look at Sudan which has split into two countries and now North Sudan is arming militia to attack South Sudan.  There are earthquakes with people still suffering in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake last year.  There are famines - you only have to look at Africa to see that.  There are pestilences, with a pestilence being, according to the Oxford English Dictionary "a fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague ".  Just look at the numbers of people afflicted by Aids, malaria and other diseases. 

It is only a matter of time before Jesus returns, and in that time, the whole world needs to hear the gospel in order that all people might have the chance to be saved.  Just as the farmer waits patiently for harvest before he can bring the crops in, so we are told to wait patiently for the return of Jesus.  This is an event that all Christians long for, but then I always worry about my family, what will happen to them, and know they need more time before they become believers.   I take comfort in the words of Jesus that "In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost" (Matthew 18:14, NIV).   I am just thankful that God is willing to wait.  On the one hand, the return of Jesus would be amazing and wonderful, but on the other hand, I want my family to be there with me, not to be cast into the lake of eternal fire.

What about you?  Do you long for the return of Jesus?  Do you actually believe in Jesus and that He will return?

One day, the truth of whether or not He exists will be made clear to all men and we will all face the judgement seat of Christ:

Revelation 20:11-15 (The Message) I saw a Great White Throne and the One Enthroned. Nothing could stand before or against the Presence, nothing in Heaven, nothing on earth. And then I saw all the dead, great and small, standing there—before the Throne! And books were opened. Then another book was opened: the Book of Life. The dead were judged by what was written in the books, by the way they had lived. Sea released its dead, Death and Hell turned in their dead. Each man and woman was judged by the way he or she had lived. Then Death and Hell were hurled into Lake Fire. This is the second death—Lake Fire. Anyone whose name was not found inscribed in the Book of Life was hurled into Lake Fire.

Whether you are alive or dead when Jesus returns, you will face Jesus and every knee will bow to Him.  You will also be judged by the way you have lived your life and whether or not you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.  If your name is not in the Lamb's Book of Life, if you did not accept as your Lord and Saviour, you will be thrown into the lake of fire.  If your name is in the Book of Life, then you will be rewarded on the basis of how you have led your life.

Don't leave it too late before making a decision.  Once you are dead, there is no changing your mind.

James 5:6

NIV: You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

The Message: In fact, what you've done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.

Woah, what an indictment for the rich.  They have condemned and murdered perfectly good persons who stand there and take it.  It reminds me of Jesus words about having anger in your hearts:

Matthew 5:22 (NIV)  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

It is what is in our hearts that matters, not what is in our purse, or in the bank, or on show in our homes.    It doesn't matter how well dressed we are, what sort of job we have, how powerful we may be, how inconspicuous we are, what matters to God is what we have in our hearts. 

These words to the rich aren't just to those who have pots of money, the ones people look up to, men (and women) of power.   James isn't just warning them of the impending judgment, the time when we have to account for all our actions.  No, he is speaking to each and every one of us.

Take a look at this website:

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Put in your annual income and see just how rich you are in comparison to the rest of the world.  It is a sobering fact that most of us here in the west are amongst the richest in the world.  You may think you have no money, you can't get a new car every year, or buy complete changes of wardrobe every season.  Holidays abroad have had to be replaced by holidays in your own country, or maybe even "staycations".  You have takeaways once a month instead of once a week, you only dine out/go out once a week instead of several nights a week.   Your children get presents just on birthdays and Christmas not whenever they see something they "need" (and it is amazing how children find they "need" so much!).  Maybe you struggle to pay the bills, finding it hard to make ends meet, to have enough food in the house to last the week and pay for everything else that needs sorting, yet even so, you are still amongst the richest in the world. 

If you earn £50,000, you are apparently in the top 0.71%.  If you earn £10,000, you are in the top 11.5%.  Even with an income of £5,000, you are still in the top 13.48% and if you only earn £500 a year, you are in the top 50%!!!!

Those are sobering figures, and just go to show that James' words aren't just for the ones who pay more in tax than my annual income, but are actually meant for each and every one of us.

When we do others down in order to better ourselves, or to keep the status quo, to make ourselves look good, feel good, or whatever, we are doing exactly what James is accusing the rich of doing.  Instead of storing up treasures in heaven for ourselves, we are actually storing up judgment and condemnation.  Judgment and condemnation.  Not the sort of words you want to have spoken to you.  I know I don't like the idea of judgement and condemnation, but that is what is in store when we fail to show the love of Christ to others.  What about the times when we (and if you don't do this, I know I do) walk past the person selling the Big Issue and pretend we don't see them, or tell ourselves they need to go and get a job and they are just scroungers?  When we don't make a donation or give to the church because we have bills to pay, debts to meet, and they have enough money anyway, there are others who earn far more who give so they don't need our offering, and anyhow, you might be supposed to give 10% but really, how can anyone manage on 90% of what our income is?

But is that showing the love of Jesus to our fellow man?  Is it really what Jesus would have us do?  When we in the west the richest people in the world?

Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 

No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

James 5:5

NIV: You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter .

The Message: You've looted the earth and lived it up. But all you'll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse.

This is a continuation of the warnings to the rich and James certainly does not mince his words.  Imagine the reaction in the congregation after being told that all they will have to show for their time and effort on earth is a fatter than usual corpse!

Of course, those words would not have applied to many, as there would have been those working hard to follow the teachings of Jesus, yet there would be many for whom it would be all too relevant.  Take a look around you the next time you are in church and see the people there.  Only God knows the heart of each one of us, only He knows how we spend our time, our money, whether what we do behind closed doors at home lives up to what we say when we are at church.  There will be some in the congregation to whom these words of James would apply.  They may even apply to you, to me. 

I know there are times when I just want to indulge myself and to let everyone else  fend for themselves.  Why shouldn't I spend my money on myself?  After all, I work hard for what I earn, I deserve a treat now and then.  But it is when money becomes the be all and end all, when making money becomes a priority, no matter how it is made or who is hurt in the process and when I start to put something other than God first in my life that I need to watch out.  I don't want to be one of the fat cats that James is talking about, I want to be one who lives life as Jesus would have me live it, storing up treasures in heaven, not here on earth.

After all, isn't that what Jesus tells us?

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Matthew 6:19 (NIV)

We are all going to die sooner or later and no matter how much or how little we have in the bank, we will not be able to take any of it with us when we die.   I know some use this as an excuse to make life one long party, with wine, women and song.  Others want as comfortable existence as possible so are looking for the best house, car, clothes and so on that money can buy.  Still others are always looking to do one better than their neighbour, to get the latest fashions first, be the first to get a new car, have the most well behaved children, have the perfect life and be the envy of all around them.  In order to do this, they walk all over others, never giving a thought to God and what He may think of it all.

Jesus goes on to say "No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" (Matthew 6:24).  What is it that governs our heart?   Are we really seeking to serve God in all that we do, not just on Sundays when in church, or are we seeking to serve ourselves, to get as much out of life as possible, no matter what the cost or who we trample on to get it?  What will we have to show for it when our lives are at an end?  Just a fatter than usual corpse or treasure in heaven?

James 5:4

NIV: Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you.  The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

Not only have the rich amassed their wealth, living for the here and now, seeking to fulfil all their desires, but they have also gained that wealth unjustly.  James is giving the example here of where the rich have failed to pay the workmen who laboured in the fields.  After all, if you have men working for you and then you fail to pay them, you come up with an excuse as to why they should not be paid (shoddy work, time wasting, and so on), then you have unjustly profited by their labours.    Exactly the same things are going on today.  You have employers who only pay the minimum wage, no matter what the work is.  There are those who make you lose 15 minutes pay if you are a few minutes late clocking in, others who use child labour, or make you stay late at work and then refuse to pay you because it is all part of your duties to complete the work.

But the thing to bear in mind here is that James is writing here to the believers in the twelve tribes of Israel.  He is not writing to the gentiles, to pagans but those who are professing a faith in Jesus Christ.  So when he is accusing the rich of becoming rich at the expense of the poor, he is firmly pointing the finger at Christians who cheat and rob their employees and others. 

Taking it a step further, it is an indictment against any Christian who leads a double life, saying one thing and doing another.  It is not just about the rich and how they have gained their wealth and are hoarding it.  It is about those of us who say we are Christians but our lives don't match with the words we speak.  It's about putting something other than God first in our loves.  

It is also an indictment against those who use the gospel for their own ends, to gain wealth, fame, notoriety.  False teachers who claim to follow Jesus when they are really serving their own ends, using the gospel as a means to get rich quick.  Look at how people can be misled by false teachers, how they can sound so credible, but when you check with the bible on the veracity of what they are saying, you realise they are twisting the word of God in order to make money.  When TV evangelists ask you to "sow a seed" , exactly where does the money go?  Does it go to help the poor, the needy, on mission work and so on  or does it go on fancy clothes, a big house, a flash car for the evangelist?  Are they living the high life on the donations of those who can ill afford to send the money but think they are furthering God's kingdom by sending money in?

Well, James is saying that if this is the case, if people have become rich by abusing others whilst professing to follow Jesus, then cries of those who have been oppressed, mistreated or robbed will reach the ears of God and His judgment is coming.

Imagine the reaction of the readers of James' letter if they had been doing just that!  For James is telling them that the very riches they have are crying out against them.  That those who have been robbed are also crying out to God.  No wonder those cries have reached the ears of God.

James 5:3

NIV: Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

The Message: Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you've piled up is judgment.

I've just been reading in 1 Chronicles 9 about the people of Judah returning from exile when the writer of 1 Chronicles, Ezra, states in 9:1 that:

NIV: The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.

The Message: They were exiled to Babylon because of their unbelieving and disobedient lives.

This is exactly what James is telling us here will happen to those who store up gold and silver, are ever seeking to get as many luxuries in life as they can - fine wines, designer clothes, new cars, a big house, a high powered and well paying job, seeking to gratify all those desires they have.  It’s not just about money and wealth, but it is about a lifestyle, about what is really important in our lives, the things we put first and foremost.  

The people of Israel and Judah were led away into captivity because of their unfaithfulness to God.  They had been warned time and time again through Moses, Solomon, the prophets about what would happen to them if they rejected God, so when it finally happened to them, it should not have been a surprise.  How can you continually expect God to save you if in your everyday life you ignore Him, you concentrate on gratifying your own desires, the desires of the flesh?  The people of Judah and Israel had turned to false gods, they worshipped at Asherah poles and in the high places, they sacrificed their children, made cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven (Jeremiah 7:17), poured out drink offerings to other gods .  They forgot the God who had rescued them from Egypt, the one who had brought them to Israel and saved them time after time.  Eventually, God rewarded them for their unbelief with the exile that had been foretold by Moses and others.

Here, James is warning each of us what will happen if we continually put money and wealth (and everything else that is not of God) first in our lives.  When we are seeking the pleasures of this world, the gratification of sex, drugs, drink, when we live for the next night out, the partying, the things we can buy with the money we earn, when we continually put ourselves first and others last, when we do everything in our power to get as much as we can for ourselves, piling up wealth, then we are really only piling up judgment for ourselves. 

Everyone is going to face the judgment seat of Christ, whether they are a believer or not.  Those who are believers, those who have their names written in the Lamb's book of life,  have already been forgiven for their sins, and will be facing Christ to give account of what they have done with their lives, with the gifts they have been given.  Those who are not believers, whose names are not written in the Book of Life, will be cast into the lake of eternal fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

Just as the people of Israel and Judah were warned  time and time again, so we are being warned even today through the words of the bible.