JAMES DAY 34 - Wasting Your Wealth

DAY 34
Wasting Your Wealth
James 5:1-6
Where does pride show itself in our lives?

James gives us our third example of pride in ch. 5. It sounds like he’s changing the subject again but hang with me for a minute. James criticizes “you rich people,” warning them that their wealth is wasted and they’ll soon face God’s judgment.

I don’t know about you, but any time someone in the Bible says something critical about money, I wonder, “Is he talking to me?” It’s true that many biblical authors, including James, treat money as spiritually dangerous. Wealth is a unique temptation. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” but not the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10).
Is James attacking everybody with extra money? No, if you read carefully, you’ll see that these particular rich people have cheated others out of money they owe. They’re stealing from their workers while they party hard with the money.

When you take advantage of people, when you hurt people with your money, when you don’t help but could help, when you think, “Nobody knows, who’s gonna notice?” guess what that is? Pride. Pride makes us focus our money on ourselves.

REFLECT
What specifically does James criticize “rich people” for? How does the way we use our money show if we have pride?

PRAY
Everything I have is yours, Lord. Teach me how to bless others with your money. Don’t let me focus all my money on me. Amen.