Three Stories

1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
James 5:1-6

We can learn a lot from simple stories. A famous children’s story is Cinderella. It is about a poor girl who suffers terribly because of her cruel sisters. But one day she is blessed. She is given beautiful clothes, and she goes to a party where she meets a prince. In the end, she marries the prince and becomes a princess. The most obvious sign of the change is in her clothes. She goes from wearing rags to wearing beautiful dresses. So we call Cinderella a story of rags to riches.

The book of James tells a different story. He describes people who already have money and beautiful clothes. But James tells us that their money corrodes and their clothes are eaten by moths. Instead of rags to riches, it is riches to rags. James does not criticize rich people for being rich, but he criticizes how they use their wealth. The rich people he describes “hoarded wealth” (verse 3), “failed to pay the workmen” (verse 4), and “lived on earth in luxury and indulgence” (verse 5).

Are we like the rich people described by James? What have we done with our wealth? Have we hoarded it? Have we failed to pay the workmen who are spreading God’s Word? Have we lived on the luxury and indulgence that this earth can provide?

There is another story about a man who accepted Christ. He was so proud of this that he carefully wrote his testimony and printed it on expensive paper. Then he stored it away in a beautiful box. Many years later, a pastor came to visit and the man asked if he would like to see his testimony. Then he went to the box and opened it for the first time in many years. He was shocked by what he saw. Insects had gotten into the box and eaten his testimony until there was nothing but dust.
If you are Christian, then you are like Cinderella. The creator and king of all the universe has become your Father. He loves you and cares for you beyond anything you can imagine.

You have wealth, but it is a wealth that cannot be stored. In particular, it cannot be kept in a box. It must be shared. Never let your testimony be eaten into dust.

Prayer:
• What do you need to share? Who do you need to share with?
Ask God for an opportunity to share His love with others.