Many years ago my wife and I were coached to get into the habit of saving money and tithing to the work of God. In some ways this made little sense to us, since we were living on a meager income and beginning to have children. There was the thought that we’d wait until we were wealthier to start putting money aside, and, besides, our small saving contributions didn’t seem to amount to much anyway.
Thankfully we took the advice and began to set aside a portion of our income on a regular basis for the future and for God. Today we are debt-free, financially comfortable, blessed in so many ways by God and now realize how important it was to plan ahead. Others were able to see further down the road than we were and so, in faith, we followed their wise advice.
We live in a society that tends to live for the “now.” There is the sense that there is no “ahead” so why plan for it. Why sow money for the future when you can spend it on what you want, today?
James today (5:1-6) tears into the wealthy people of his day, reminding them of what lay ahead for them. If James were speaking in our churches this weekend, everyone would start squirming. He is not exactly politically correct or sensitive to people’s feelings.
“Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire.”
He is showing, in a graphic way, what lies down the road for those who are driven by greed and hoarding. They mistakenly think that their hoarding will provide a secure future for themselves. James tells them otherwise.
“You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.”
Little did these people know that as they were fattening their supply of wealth, they were also fattening their own hearts for the day of slaughter that was not too far ahead. These “greed-addicts” did not look far enough down the road. They were storing up the wrong kind of treasures for the last days.
Each day we have the opportunity to store up treasures for the “last days.” Though we appear to be counter-cultural, we invest little by little in the kingdom of God. We stay faithful to God’s commands, spend time with him each day in prayer, receive his sacraments, share a portion of our money with the church and the poor. These little things don’t seem like much as we invest them each day, but forty years down the road imagine the “interest” they have accumulated! In following God’s word, we are storing up true treasure for the last days. Our hearts are being “thinned” not “fattened” and we will be eager and ready to meet Jesus on the last day. We will be the wise virgins who, little by little, had begun to store up an extra supply of oil so they would be ready to light their lamps when the bridegroom made his unexpected appearance.
Even if we’ve gone the “way of the world” and invested our lives in the greed and hoarding game, we have the opportunity to begin a different path today. Recall James’ opening words, “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.” We are dealing with a merciful God who longs to give the eleventh-hour workers just as much as he gave those who worked faithfully and consistently all day. The grace of repentance is always there if we reach out for it. It is never too late to weep and wail that the impending miseries we deserve will be removed for us. It is never too late to plan ahead.
“Fear not when a man grows rich, when the wealth of his house becomes great” (Ps 49:17).
