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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Faithful
Humilty
(James 1:9-11)
by
Karl J. Forehand
this newsletter is sent out
unedited. I know that pains some of
you literary perfectionists; but it creates valuable time for me.
But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position; and let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like
flowering grass he will pass away.
For the sun rises with a scorching wind, and withers the grass; and
its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too
the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. (James 1:9-11)
I have heard many preacher
talk about the evils of riches, just before taking a collection. The truth is that money has no soul – it
is not good or evil. It IS a tool
that can be either a slave or a master.
In reality, a person that uses money correctly doesn’t dwell upon
it. Often, a person that is desperate
is the one that would kill for money.
He is the one that thinks about it the most.
What
does the Bible really say about money?
1 Timothy 6:10 says, “ For the love of money is a root of all
sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith,
and pierced themselves with many a pang.”
Some, who long for money have wandered way and experienced many
pangs (whatever a pang is). What
doe that mean? It means we have to
love people and use money. We can’t
get this reversed. Any time we love
money and use people, we are off the mark.
This passage has an
underlying principle. Although it
involves money, the central principle is humility. Most people hear that word and immediately
turn off. Before you turn off, make
sure you understand the problem, the principle and the proposition.
1. The Problem
The problem is that worldly blessings are
not worth boasting about. They are
not worth losing sleep over. Whether
we are talking about money, possessions, or beauty; all worldly blessings are
temporal and not worth boasting or worrying about.
What happens to earthly
blessings (even if they are from God)?
First of all, they wither! As
with plants, there is a season of blooming and a season of withering. There are good and bad years in farming. Their “flowers” fall off! In our lives, we see periods of production
and non-production. The beauty of a
plant eventually fades, just like physical beauty.
I remember when Farrah Fawcett
was all the rage. Every male in the
country, either had Farrah on his wall or on his mind. She is still a beautiful woman, but the
popularity has faded. Brittany Spears
will eventually be a “has been.” The
popular bands will cease to be popular.
If we are counting on the material things in our life to sustain us,
then we are hanging our hats on the wrong coat rack. Beauty, success, popularity and wealth
are all like “grass.”
In addition to the futility of
material things, we must also understand that the abundance of anything can
be a trap. A beautiful church
building can be an excuse to stop depending on the Lord. Popularity can make us forget whom we are
really trying to please. Money can
become a master, instead of a slave.
Power can become like a drug addiction that is never satisfied.
The trouble with the rich man
that Jesus talked to was not that he was rich. The problem was his unwillingness to give it up to serve
Jesus. He loved it more than Jesus.
Just a side note: It is not any more holy to be lazily
slothful. Someone said, “Most people
miss opportunities because they are dressed in overalls and look like
work.” It is just as sinful to misuse
and neglect the talent God has given you.
The problem is that abundance
can become a poor excuse for a master.
We should have one master – Jesus Christ.
2. The Principle
Very simply, the principle is: You are either humble or in the process of
being humbled. Luke 14:11 states it
very clearly: “For everyone who
exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be
exalted."
Humility is that state that a
sinner must come to when they recognize their true position without Christ. It is also the picture of Jesus when He
recognized His dependence upon the Father.
Phillip Brooks made an apt comment when he
said, “The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than
yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that
will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.” (Quoted in
Burning Out for God, E. Skoglund, p. 11)
“Humility does not mean thinking less of
yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your
own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other
at all.” (William Temple, “Christ in His Church”) Did you hear about the minister who had a great sermon on
humility, but was waiting for an adequate crowd to present it.
It was John
Riskin who said, “I believe the first test of a truly great man is his
humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in
speaking his opinion. But really great men have a ... feeling that the
greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be
anything else than God made them.” Andrew Murray said, “The humble man feels
no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and blessed
before him. He can bear to hear others praised while he is forgotten because
... he has received the spirit of Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and who
sought not His own honor. Therefore, in putting on the Lord Jesus Christ he
has put on the heart of compassion, kindness, meekness, longsuffering, and humility.”
M. R. De Haan used to say, “Humility is something we should constantly
pray for, yet never thank God that we have.”
The young seminarian was excited about preaching his first sermon in
his home church. After three years in seminary, he felt adequately prepared,
and when he was introduced to the congregation, he walked boldly to the
pulpit, his head high, radiating self-confidence.
But he stumbled reading the Scriptures and then lost his train of
thought halfway through the message. He began to panic, so he did the safest
thing: He quickly ended the message, prayed, and walked dejectedly from the
pulpit, his head down, his self-assurance gone.
Later, one of the godly elders whispered to the embarrassed young man,
“If you had gone up to the pulpit the way you came down, you might have come
down the way you went up.” The elder was right. God still resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble. (Prokope, Vol. No. 3, July-September, 1997)
God does not break this law or
make exceptions for it. Either we are
humble or we will be humbled.
3. The proposition
The challenge, from this
passage is to rejoice in both situations.
When God blesses us, we have to realize it is temporal and stay
humble. We rejoice. When we are proud, we can realize that God
will soon be humbling us. We can
still rejoice! Why? Because God disciplines those that He
loves.
We often sell our souls for
popularity that always eventually wanes.
The most popular today will inevitably not be tomorrow. We sell out for riches that have ruined
many. We long for success that can
often be a ladder against the wrong wall.
For richer or for poorer, be assured God is going to keep you humble. Therefore, we can rejoice in humble
circumstance or in lofty ones.
The key issue is not how much
money we have. The issue is:
We have to realize ultimately who provides it all.
Even if you did it, God provided the ability TO do it. W also have to recognize the
Biblical priorities: God first,
others second, and ourselves last.
Then, we can rejoice over the principle of humility. God always allows us the choice to choose
humility. If we don’t choose it, He
is faithful to correct us.
Karl
J. Forehand, 2002
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