6-3-2019

 Good Morning All,

            James 1:11; “The sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up plants. The flowers drop off, and the beauty is gone. The same thing will happen to rich people. While they are busy, they will die.”

    Did you ever hear that old Janis Joplin song, “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”  It is one of those songs that only a few people probably remember.  She sang about wanting what everyone else had but she didn’t have but “worked hard all her lifetime with no help from her friends.”  Maybe you heard Harry Chapin and “Cats in the Cradle” about a man who chased money and missed his son growing up.  Or maybe you remember the movie “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”  Everyone was looking for some buried stolen money.  A little bit of greed sure caused a lot of trouble. 

    There is always greed in the world, many want something for nothing or at least they want something more than they have.  The sad thing is that there are even people in the church who promise that you will make money and get rich if you are a Christian.  They use verses like this one and promise an easy life to the believer.  If, and usually when, this doesn’t happen; strife occurs.  Faith does not promise an easy life what God offers us is a contented life.

    Many of us don’t feel that we are rich.  Most of you would claim that you were barely getting by.  Yet from most of the world’s view, you have wealth beyond imagination.  What most of us lack is contentment with what God has given us.

    Most of us have seen, maybe experienced, the way greed can cause trouble.  If you don’t believe me, just ask s family where the parents died without a will.  Sometimes those family breaches never heal.  So, what does Scripture really tell us?  How do we understand this verse?  First, what God promises us is not wealth but contentment, being satisfied with what you have.  If we truly look, the greatest treasures have no monetary worth but are truly priceless. 

    God shows us this in many simple ways.  We see the beauty of a sunrise or sunset.  We get a call from a friend we haven’t seen in years.  We spend time with family and friends at a lake or a picnic in the park.  We look outside and remember the words of the Psalmist when he wrote; “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky displays what his hands have made."  The key to our happiness is not necessarily success but contentment.  Enjoy the blessing that God gives you.  Don’t look at what others have or at what you don’t have; look at what God has given to you.  Be content; that is his gift that will enrich you.  That is how you are truly rich. It is not what we possess but what God has given to us.  He has given us salvation, hope, comfort and all of his love; this is how we are enriched.

Dearest Father, too often we look at the world and define riches by its measure.  Help us to see that true wealth is found in your grace and in the many blessings which you have showered upon us.  Help those who are struggling now to see the blessings in their life.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret