You're Richer Than You Think, Here's How to Be a Good One

James 5 starts with a hard word for rich people: “Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.” The question is not whether a trampoline, satellite TV, a swimming pool, or a new double wide makes somebody rich. The question is what a person does with whatever God has put in his hands.

James does not say that having money automatically makes somebody evil. Abraham had wealth and believed God. David had wealth and was called a man after God’s own heart. Scripture shows that money itself is not the problem, but James calls out the kind of rich person who gets wealth by taking advantage of people, uses it all on himself, and then uses his position to get even more.

The riches in James 5 have rotted because grain was stored while people starved. The garments are moth eaten because expensive clothes were kept as investments while naked children went without. The gold and silver have corroded because wealth sat around unused while families were falling apart. James says that unused wealth will become evidence against a person, not because poverty saves anybody or wealth damns anybody, but because a person’s handling of money shows what is going on in the heart.

Christ saves sinners by His blood when they place their faith in Him. James still warns that the life lived now matters in the life to come. The wealth that was hoarded, the wages that were withheld, and the people who were used up can testify against a person who claimed friendship with God while living like a friend of the world.

James names three ugly marks of evil wealth. The first mark takes advantage of people in need, especially workers who need their daily pay to eat. The second mark spends everything on luxury and self indulgence, fattening the heart “in a day of slaughter.” The third mark uses power, courts, business, and loopholes to take from people who cannot fight back.

The definition of rich usually means somebody who has more than the person making the definition. James pushes that excuse out of the way. The abundance of food, clothing, housing, cars, air conditioning, subscriptions, and the ability to choose what to buy means that many people who do not feel rich still have more than they need.

Christ, who had everything, set down His wealth and came in poverty to give needy sinners what they could never get on their own. The generosity of Christ makes hoarding look different. The question becomes: what kind of rich person will a disciple be?

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Wealth reveals what rules the heart. Wealth does not create a whole new heart so much as it exposes the one already there. Money can become a tool for mercy, provision, and generosity, or it can become proof that fear and self are still calling the shots. The issue is never merely what a person has, but whether what he has is allowed to serve what God cares about. [13:07]
• 2. Unused abundance can become evidence. Grain rotting in storage, clothes eaten by moths, and money sitting untouched are not neutral pictures. James sees them as a testimony against the person who could have helped but would not. A disciple must ask whether possessions are being preserved wisely or simply protected from the needs God has placed nearby. [29:16]
• 3. Generosity begins with seeing abundance. Richness is easy to deny when attention stays fixed on what somebody else has. Gratitude changes the question from “What am I missing?” to “What has God already put in front of me?” Even an extra sandwich, a meal, an honest payment, or a small act of help can become real generosity. [42:23]
• 4. Christ gave up everything for sinners. Jesus did not stay distant from human need while holding onto heaven’s riches. Christ came down, lived in poverty, faced temptation, and gave His life so needy sinners could be rescued. A heart that has received that kind of generosity cannot honestly say it has nothing to share.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:33] - What Made Somebody Rich?
• [03:22] - Rich or Just Deep in Debt?
• [06:08] - James Speaks to the Rich
• [08:35] - The Warning in James 5
• [09:55] - Is Having Money Evil?
• [13:07] - What Kind of Rich Person?
• [16:25] - Wealth and Exploitation in James’s World
• [18:53] - Rotten Riches and Moth Eaten Garments
• [25:47] - Wealth as Evidence Before God
• [32:15] - Three Marks of Evil Wealth
• [36:18] - Who Counts as Rich?
• [42:23] - Live Like You Are Blessed
• [45:13] - Jesus Set Down His Wealth
• [47:18] - What Kind of Rich Person?

Bible Reading

James 5:1-6
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.”
[08:21] [13:09] [18:53] [25:47] [29:16] [32:15]

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.”

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.”
[45:13]

Luke 12:15
“And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”

Observation questions

1. In James 5:1-3, what three forms of stored wealth does James name, and what happens to each one?
2. What specific wrongs do the wealthy people commit in James 5:4-6 against workers and righteous people? [32:15]
3. What contrast does 2 Corinthians 8:9 make between Christ’s riches, His poverty, and the riches He gives to believers?
4. What examples of everyday abundance were named as ways people may have more than they need, even if they do not think of themselves as rich? [41:14]

Interpretation questions

1. James does not condemn Abraham, David, or every person who has wealth. What details in James 5:4-6 show that his warning is aimed at a certain kind of wealthy person rather than simply at having money? [12:11]
2. James says that corroded wealth will be “evidence” against its owner. How can possessions that are unused while nearby needs go unmet reveal what a person truly values? [29:07]
3. Why would withholding a worker’s wages be especially cruel in a setting where workers depended on daily pay to buy food for that day? [32:46]
4. Jesus says that treasure and heart are connected, while Paul says Christ became poor for sinners. How does Christ’s generosity reshape the way a believer should understand possessions, security, and generosity? [45:20]

Application questions

1. When you think about being “rich,” do you normally focus on people who have more than you, or on what God has already provided for you? What would change if you regularly thanked God for your food, home, clothing, transportation, and other provisions? [42:14]
2. Is there anything in your home, budget, schedule, or abilities that has been sitting unused while someone nearby may have a real need? What is one practical way you could use part of that abundance to help this week? [42:32]
3. James speaks strongly about unpaid wages and using power to take advantage of people. In your work, business, buying, selling, lending, or personal agreements, where might honesty and fairness cost you something? What would it look like to make things right? [35:20]
4. Luxury and self-indulgence can quietly turn every extra dollar toward self. What spending habit most tempts you to say, “This is all for me”? How could you make room to share without pretending you must give away everything? [42:58]
5. Fear can make a person hold tightly to what he has, especially if he has known financial hardship. Where do you feel pressure to store up more and more “just in case,” and how can you wisely provide for your household while still trusting God and remaining generous? [31:33]
6. Christ gave up heavenly riches, entered poverty, and gave His life to rescue needy sinners. How does remembering what Christ has given you challenge the excuse, “I do not have enough to share”? #!!45:47!!