Being Wise With Your Money
Today we are going to continue our sermon series – “Living Life Wisely”. We have been going through the book of James – I have said it is a very practical book – perhaps the most practical book in the Bible. Today James is going to tell us how to be wise with our wealth. We will be looking at the first six verse of chapter five – in James. Follow along with me as I read:
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.” James 5:1-6 (NKJV)
Many people wrongly believe that the Bible teaches that it’s wrong to be wealthy. They think that the Bible says: “Money is the root of all evil”. But the Bible does not teach this. What the Bible says is:
“The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.” 1 Tim 6:10 (NASV)
God is not opposed to wealth. In fact, many people in the Bible were extremely wealthy. Abraham was probably a millionaire – if it was valued according to today’s standards. David and Solomon were both wealthy men of their time. Job was also wealthy – and the list could go on and on. It is not wealth that is evil. Look at First Timothy again and circle, “The love of money”. You see that is where the real problem arises. It is the misuse of money – the love of money – that causes all kinds of problems.
James lashes out at the wrong use of money by the wealthy. He gives a rebuke – probably one of the most negative passages in the Bible against the misuse of money. He looks at three specific areas we need to be aware of when it comes to money. James gives his listeners a healthy warning of how they should handle their wealth. In other words – How to be Wise with Money. Let’s look how God wants us to handle our money in three areas:
I. The Method In Which We GET Our Money
The way we get our money is as important as the money we receive. The first question I want to ask you today is – Where does your money come from? Do you get it by honest means? Look at what James is telling his readers – about the dishonest way they have accumulated their wealth:
“You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.” James 5:4 (GN)
Go ahead and circle the words – “not paid”. Folks let me tell you up front – this is a serious issue. Over and over again in the Bible - God tells employers that they are to treat their employees with fairness and justice. But you say – “I’m not an employer.” Yes, you are. Let me give you an example. When you walk into a restaurant and order a meal – in essence you have just hired the waitress to get the order for you. You have hired the cook to cook the meal. You expect the waitress to deliver the meal to you and the cook to prepare the food for you. You have hired them for their service. Here is the warning – DON’T SHORT CHANGE THEM. God is not pleased when we cheat others. Don’t be dishonest. Don’t rip people off. Look at what the book of Jeremiah tells us:
"Doom to him who builds palaces but bullies people, who makes a fine house but destroys lives, Who cheats his workers and won’t pay them for their work.” Jeremiah 22:13 (MSG)
God is very serious about how you get your money. Don’t fill your pockets by cheating people out of what you owe them. Don’t be dishonest with people. Don’t rip them off. When you get a bill in the mail – pay it. When you owe someone something – pay what is due.
Employees – treat your employers fairly also. Give an honest days work for an honest days pay. If you sell used cars – do it with honesty. If you’re get paid by the hour – don’t sit around wasting time. How you get your money – matters. Proverbs says:
“In hard work there is always something gained, but idle talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23 (GW)
Next:
II. The Reason We SAVE Our Money
James next shows us that there is a wrong reason to save up money. Let’s look at verse three:
“You have heaped up treasure in the last days.” James 5:3 (NKJV)
Go ahead and circle the words – “heaped up”. He is saying don’t stockpile your money just so you can have more of it – in other words – don’t hoard it. In essence James is saying, “You’re hoarded your wealth for your own pleasures in the last days. But who knows when the last days are? You put your faith in money rather than in God.” God says that money is not to be stockpiled just for the sake of stockpiling money. God wants His money to circulate. What James is referring to here is the desire to get more money – just for the sake of having more money. That is not God’s plan of how you should save your money. You need to save your money so that it can be used for God’s Kingdom.
Let me say right up front God is not opposed to saving money. In fact look at what Jesus said:
"Suppose you want to build a tower. You would first sit down and figure out what it costs. Then you would see if you have enough money to finish it.” Luke 14:28 (GW)
Jesus was talking about having enough resources in hand – to finish the project that you started. You see God encourages saving – there IS a legitimate place for saving. But if you are saving money – just to have more money – that is wrong.
A very wealthy man was once asked, “How much money is enough?” His answer was, “More than I have.” Saving money just to have more money is a vicious cycle? It never ends!
Once in a while you will read in the newspaper about an elderly person who has died. They seemed to live a very simple lifestyle – but in their house they will find thousands of dollars stashed away. They were hording the money. Why? Because they were afraid of loosing it. They wanted to feel safe and secure – and they thought the more money that they had would make them feel more secure. They died living a life of poverty – with all their riches hidden. Getting more money just so you can have more money is senseless.
In the New Testament times you could hoard your wealth in three ways: You could stockpile food, you could collect nice clothing, or you could gather jewels and precious metals. This is how you could tell if a person was wealthy in New Testament times. Look at what James says about this:
“Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.” James 5:2-3 (NKJV)
James is telling them – what you accumulate will deteriorate.
God does not want us to get wealth – just for the sake of getting wealth. He wants us to put our wealth into circulation – for His kingdom. Don’t hoard it! Now let’s look at:
III. The Way We SPEND Our Money
The way we spend our money is very important. James tells his readers that they are spending their money wrong:
“You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.” James 5:5 (NKJV)
We are not to waste our wealth. We are not to be – overly self indulgent. The more money you make the easier it is to waste it. We tend to say, “I deserve it. I’m worth it – I might as well enjoy myself.” Just because you can afford something – does not mean you should buy it. The Bible tells us not to waste our money.
Christmas, one of the most important religious holidays of the Christian calendar, has turned into the consumer event of the year for most businesses. There are millions of ways to spend and squander your money on yourself. But is that pleasing to God?
The Bible tells us that we are to spend our money wisely. We are to plan how we spend our money. Look at what it says in Proverbs:
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 (NKJV)
How do you spell “PLAN”? B – U – D – G – E – T Have a budget. What is a budget? It is planned spending. It is telling your money where to go and when. A wise man – plans how to use his money. Proverbs tells us:
“Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder.” Proverbs 23:4-5 (MSG)
This is a very true statement unless you plan – unless you budget. Do you remember the scripture we read earlier from Luke – let’s read it again:
"Suppose you want to build a tower. You would first sit down and figure out what it costs. Then you would see if you have enough money to finish it.” Luke 14:28 (GW)
This is planned spending.
The Bible clearly teaches that God is concerned with how we get our money, how we save our money and how we spend our money. God is concerned with every aspect of our lives – and that includes our finances. Are you using them in a way that is pleasing to God? Are you including God in your financial planning? He wants to be the center of your life – and that includes how you handle your money. Place God at the center of your life. Make Him Lord of your life. Ask Him to be the center of all that you do – to include your finances.
