Practice Caution

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. James 5:2-3b

TODAY’S MESSAGE

James uses very harsh language to tell his readers that wealth does not last. He says their wealth has rotted, moths have eaten their clothes, their gold and silver are corroded, and this corrosion will … eat their flesh. It’s as if he is saying, “you may think the wealth you have accumulated makes you valuable, but it’s all temporary.”

Wealth itself is not evil. Plenty of rich people throughout the Bible are used greatly by God such as David, Solomon, Cornelius, etc. However, when you put all your hope in it and think it will meet your deepest needs—you are playing with fire. James cautions his readers, who had put their hope in temporary things, that they could get burned.

We are in danger of doing the same thing today. So how do we avoid this pitfall? How do we know if wealth has become too important in our life? Our answer lies in our thinking, “If I had… a big inheritance, bigger house, better job, vacation, or newer car… then I would be happy.” These things won’t last long, and they certainly won’t bring us long-term contentment. Practice caution if you put your trust in what you have. You are playing with fire.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

It’s so easy to look to things other than God to meet our deepest needs. To guard against it, we should continually ask this question, “If I have ______, then I will be happy.” Pray and ask God for wisdom as you think about this and then write down things that fill in that blank for you. Confess these things to God saying, “I am sorry God, I am trusting more in ______ than in you.”

Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.