Surviving Suffering

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
James 5:7-12


These verses follow the admonition to the rich who are misusing their wealth, oppressing the poor.  James is addressing the persecuted and distressed...the context is suffering.


Perhaps you and I are not being exploited and oppressed as many were that read this original letter and as many are persecuted for their faith even today.  We might even feel uncomfortable putting ourselves in the same ballpark as those heroes.  But all who are committed to the cause of Christ have experienced suffering to at least some degree.  (This, by the way, is a litmus test of righteousness - if nothing in our lives causes enough of a stir to provoke at least some suffering, then we have reason to examine ourselves to see if truly we are in the faith.  But that's another post....)



Suffering is not something we are eager for.  In fact, we naturally want to alleviate it as soon as possible!  It's not "popular" theology to teach that suffering is part of God's plan for His children.  Not popular, but it's true.  As we dig into the depths of the New Testament, we see that The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) will not be completed without suffering.  The suffering of those walking in obedience. For those times we find ourselves afflicted because our light is shining in someone's darkness, James has words of encouragement.  Here's what he says.....


1.  Be assured - God will avenge any wrong done to us.  "The coming of the Lord is at hand" and when He comes, Revelation 22:12 comforts us that Jesus says Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 


  Because we know God is our avenger, we can accept what James exhorts us to do -


2.  Be patient.  The Greek word that James penned was not "regular old patience" like I strive to be when I am kept waiting longer than I like.  This is a stronger word with a much different application.  The word that we translate as "patient" here is "makrothumeo" which might better be rendered as "longsuffering".  It means to bear up well under suffering, especially exercising kind patience and understanding towards people...even those causing the suffering.
As though he knew we might have hard time grasping this concept, James provides 3 examples of longsuffering to help us understand --


Farmers - when you have to relay on God's grace and provision to see your crop grow, you realize that you cannot control the elements you need in order to reach your goal.  Patience and faith in waiting on the Lord to provide.
Prophets - regardless of the consequences, these men of old spoke and lived God's truth.  At great personal cost, they kept the faith.  They ran the race.  They finished the course.
Job - in the face of intense heartbreak and pain, he refused to cease from worshipping God.  He served God for Who He Is rather than what he could get from Him.


In order to be patient in the midst of oppression - to indeed suffer well, something is needful -


3.  Be strengthened.  James says we are to


Establish our hearts - The idea here is to set our hearts on Christ.  "Establish" means our hearts...our minds...our actions....are firmly fixed on following Him.
Refuse to complain - What practical counsel!  Surely in the midst of suffering, we are tempted to complain!  This would even be understandable, wouldn't it?  Yet James says no.  Don't grumble about what we are called to endure.  Instead, Acts 5:41 provides the example we are to follow - Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
Maintain a life of integrity - More practical counsel.  When James says that our yes is to be yes and our no is to be no, he does so because For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.(Matthew 12:34)  We are to live a life of such integrity that our words contain no deceit, no duplicity and need no "propping up" by oaths but are true enough to stand on their own merit.


May our prayer be that we will indeed be counted worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ and when we do, may we remember James.  And Peter:
and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit I Peter 3:16-18




All those rich people.....

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 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. 4 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. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
James 5:1-6


We're in the home stretch of our trek through James.  The last chapter.  I hope you've fallen in love with this letter as I have.  More importantly, I hope it's taken up residence in your heart and that you've embraced its Truth.


Today's passage requires some grappling with in order to embrace it....let's have a go at it....


We established many weeks ago when we started our study on this book that it is a letter written to believers.  To encourage them, to direct them, to counsel them particularly in the face of trials.  It is unclear in these six verses exactly whom James is addressing.  Perhaps he is making rhetorical statements to an absent audience, for the sake of his intended readers.  Rhetorical statements, perhaps, but warnings to be sure.


Here's what he says:


Without equivocation, James proclaims that judgment will be severe to those who misuse the wealth God has entrusted to them.  What a departure from the worldview that what we have is because we deserve it and therefore we deserve to employ it to please ourselves.
James says NO.


He issues strong caution against
1)placing trust in material wealth
No matter how secure that gold and silver and luxurious trapping seems, it cannot sustain your trust.  It will fail you.  You can't buy enough security or save enough security or display enough security to protect you because, ultimately, God controls it all.  He's just entrusting it all around to see how it's handled.  And however you handle whatever He allots you will be the evidence of your relationship to Him on the Day of Judgment.  The consequences of trusting in wealth will be devastating.  Horrific.  Damning.  And unavoidable at that point.  The time to choose where to place trust is now.....He alone can save. 


2)mistreating people for the sake of your gain
This passage takes a severe view of oppression.  As well it should!  In James's time, many Christians relied solely on their wages as day laborers .  (The same situation is also true in many places today)They were so poor that their survival depended on this daily pay.  Were it withheld from them, either from fraud or lack of opportunity, their very existence was threatened.  James proclaims that God hears the cries of those oppressed and He will avenge them.


3)excess/personal indulgence
Here, James lashes out in righteous indignation at the excessive lifestyles of the rich.  He points out the personal accountability of one living luxuriously while one nearby dies from lack.


The warning of these verses is abundantly clear.  Judgment will come based on our use of the resources God has entrusted.  He will not overlook greed and injustice and oppression.  He will avenge the poor and weak and needy.


What might not be so clear is how the message applies to us.


I mean, after all, we're not oppressing the poor or hoarding our riches or living excessively.  Gracious me, we're not even rich!!


Or are we...............


I checked numerous sources (Compassion International, UNICEF, WHO, Childinfo.org, Global Issues) just to be sure I wasn't misrepresenting or slanting the data.
Here's the conservative numbers of who's rich and who's not:


Including food and shelter -
20% of the world's population live at or below $1.25 a day
50% of the world's population live at or below $2.50 a day
80% of the world's population live at or below $10.00 a day


That's not including clothing, healthcare, or education.


I think it's safe to say my pets live better than over half the world's people.


I think it's also safe to say I am rich.  How about you?


I think I have a long way to go before my life exhibits the truth of 1 Timothy 6:8 - But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content


Soooooooo, is James talking to believers or unbelievers in the first 6 verses of chapter 5?  I don't know. 
But I do know that I am rich.
And that God has entrusted these riches to me NOT
so that
1)I can feel secure by hoarding
2)I can miss opportunities to pay people and help them
3)I can enjoy excess


Instead, I can use my wealth to store up the TRUE riches in Heaven, where I can enjoy them forever.




Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Matthew 6:19-21

When we lack humility.....

 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them  James 4:11-17




We need to remember that this book was written as a letter.  So it flowed from one subject into another.  This passage followed verse 10 which exhorts believers to humble themselves.  Then the next thoughts from Brother James are demonstrating the behavior we exhibit when we DO NOT humble ourselves.........


The lack of humility -- that would be, duh, PRIDE -- shows itself in these three areas:

People, plans, priorities


Lack of humility results in our being


1.  Critical of people - vs 11,12
When we don't embrace our place in relation to God's rightful place, we tend to put ourselves on the bench as Judge.  We evaluate people's actions, ascribe motives to them, decide the appropriate punishment, and then, often we execute it ourselves.  Like a bailiff that usurps the role of the jury, the judge, and the jailer, all in one.  As though we don't trust THE Lawgiver, THE Judge, to address the problems in someone else's life, we assume responsibility of doing so.  Not that it's wrong to call sin "sin" - not at all.  The problem comes when we assume the role of determining motive and punishment.  That's pride.


2. Arrogance in plans - vs 13-16
Now I'm a planner.  I like to know my schedule and make plans accordingly.  I don't like to rush at the last minute to do things that could've been taken care of in advance.  Is this passage condemning such contemplations?
No.


Plenty of other verses commend and exhort planfulness.  Proverbs 6:6-8 and Proverbs 10:5 to name a few.


Rather, it's calling us to examine not only the making of our plans but especially the "why".  Notice the motive in verse 13 -- "to make money".  Other translations say "to make a profit".  The lack of humility is demonstrated when our goal is to advance our own agenda rather than submitting to God's plans for our time.


3.  Setting of priorities - vs 17
When my life is characterized by pride (self-focus) instead of humility (God-centered), I am prone to ignore the promptings or conviction of the Holy Spirit.  And then I don't do what I know to be right and/ or I do what I know to be wrong.  That is sin.  Of omission or commission.  It's sin.  And it's rooted in pride.


SO, how can we walk in humility instead of pride?  If these verses reveal pride in us regarding our attitude towards people, our pursuit of personal agenda, our insistence on our own way - what we we do instead?


Go back to verse 10.  Get in the presence of the Lord.  Soak up who HE is and inevitably we see who we are NOT.  Confess the sin His Spirit reveals.  Ask for His transforming power. 


And ask Him to point out every manifestation of pride every time it occurs.


Then repent.  Change directions.
 Give grace to people instead of condemnation.
Ask the Lord for His directions instead of your own.
Respond in obedience to what He shows you is right.


Pride is destructive. 


Humility is exalting.  Right into His presence.
And there, and only there, do we find fullness of joy.


Amen.



Are you a peacemaker? Or a peace-faker? Or a peace-taker?

We ended the last post from James with this verse


And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (James 3:18)


Pretty clear.  If we want righteousness in our lives..........and in the lives of those around us........we must be peacemakers.


Sounds good!


But what's a peacemaker?



The need for a peacemaker certainly implies that there is a lack of peace....in other words, a conflict of some degree.  We might label it tension, frustration, annoyance :) or even war.  Instead of mutual harmony, serenity, freedom from angst or disturbance.


So a peacemaker is one who can act as the catalyst to bring peace to a situation, to relationships. One who brings reconciliation, restoration.  And this seed of peacemaking results in the fruit of righteousness.  To all involved. 


Wow.  Powerful concept.


How can we be peacemakers?


First, know that the absence of visible conflict does not necessarily equal peace.  Because, instead of "making" peace, we can merely be "faking" peace.  Sweeping issues under the rug, pretending that all is well...all the while being bruised and battered by the inevitable bumps that accumulate under the rug.  Peace-faking is an escape response to the need for peace, either by denial or by flight (running away from the conflict such as withdrawing from a relationship, quitting a job or church, ending a relationship)
Peace-faking is terribly unsuccessful because it results in no resolution of the problems.  Although this response might bring some temporary relief from the angst and tension it will eventually make the situation worse.


Peace-takers are the opposite end of the spectrum from peace-faking.  This response might be disguised to look like an attempt at reconciliation but is actually an attack.  Peace-takers are interested in getting their own way rather than in preserving a relationship.  They use control (bullying, intimidation, verbal attacks) or manipulation (gossip, slander, pouting, withholding approval or affection) to overcome the "opponent" in a conflict.  This always makes the situation worse.


But a peace maker  is one whose example is Christ, whose inspiration is grace and whose goal is genuine harmony, understanding, and restoration.  Here are the things a peace maker does:


1.  Overlook an offense - Proverbs 19:11 says "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense".  Notice the verse doesn't say "to pretend it didn't happen".  To overlook it means to look past it, to see the bigger picture.  To value the relationship so much (and to want to imitate Christ so much!) that we absorb the cost of the offense.  Forgive.  Move past it. Don't let it fester and develop into bitterness and pent-up anger.  Overlook an offense.  Much peace could be achieved if we would just be willing to overlook offenses.


2.  Seek reconciliation - Matthew 5:23-24 exhorts us "If your brother has something against you...go and be reconciled".  If we have been the offender, this certainly applies.  But we also need to consider it when we think we are in the right......but perceive our brother thinks otherwise.  Tall orders, to be sure.  This requires divine humility, this removal of the log in our eye so that we can see how our brother might be viewing things (Matthew 7:5)  Again, valuing the relationship above our "personal rights".  Just like Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil. 2:6-8)


3.  Pursue restoration - Often, we are interested in resolving a conflict for selfish reasons.  We want to enjoy the peace instead of endure the tension.  But a peacemaker is focused on the restoration of the other person.  Even at personal cost.   With Matthew 7:5 in mind (and applied!), a peacemaker pursues the good of the offender - Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. ( Galatians 6:1)  Restoration.  Not for the sake of pointing out how somehow has wronged us but rather with the goal of restoring their fellowship with the Father.


Peacemaking.  It's costly.  It requires humility and sacrifice and maturity.....it's like Jesus.  It bears a harvest of righteousness.  In our lives and in the lives of others.


Blessed are the peacemakers,  for they will be called children of God  (Matthew 5:9)