Let’s Make Some Money

James 4:13–17 | Caleb Suko

“Let me tell you how I’m going to make more money this year than I did last year!”

Or

“I have a friend who has a friend who knows about this opportunity to earn thousands of dollars. He said that this one girl tried it for a few months and earned 10k!”

We all heard statements like this and some of us have made similar statements. Many people would like to earn more money and it’s provocative to dream and tell others about your new ways of earning money. But talk is just that, it’s talk, and 99% of the time it doesn’t turn out the way we imagined it. And even when it doesn’t produce results later we can become discontent with even that.

In our passage today James helps us to correct some of our thinking about the future and specifically about making money. What he says might not be the most popular or provocative way but it is God’s way of wisdom and if you are interested to know what God thinks of your future, your plans, and your money-making opportunities then you need to pay close attention.

In my experience most people would like to think that in a few years down the road things will be better for them, they will be happier because they have achieved some goals, found a better job, or made some other significant change in life. However, we must be careful in these future dreams and desires to make sure we are following after God.

Let’s see what God tells us now in James 4:13–17

James 4:13–17

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Let’s Make Money!

James 4:13

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”

Why do people make these kinds of statements? They want to make a name for themselves!

They want to impress others. They think they have a better plan. They think the future, a different city, a different business, and more money will make their lives better.

Why is this statement wrong?

1. A statement of ignorance

Notice how the phrase starts “today or tomorrow” the truth is the person making this statement doesn’t really know when or how this will happen. He is speaking in ignorance about the future. Only a fool claims to know the future, but the wise man is quiet because he knows that everything can change.

Ecclesiastes 11:6

6 Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

In our ignorance about the future, we can put too much hope in things that will never happen and end up getting burned for it.

2. A statement of arrogance

In this statement, there is a sense of arrogance. The statement is bold and simply says, “we will do this” It is reminiscent of those who build the tower of Babylon.

Genesis 11:4

4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Often business plans are more about making a name for ourselves than anything else. We want other people to view us as successful. There’s nothing wrong with success but there is something wrong with the arrogance of promoting ourselves and making an image of success for other people to view.

3. A statement of independence

Maybe the most evil part of this statement is what is missing from it. The person simply proclaims, “we will” he makes no mention of a need for help. He doesn’t recognize his dependence upon others and upon God. He doesn’t talk about the support he might need from parents, from mentors, from others in his life. He is going to a new city, it’s not going to be easy. There is a form of unhealthy independence here. He fails to realize all the people who have helped him get to where he’s at. He is failing to realize all the people who will help him to get to where he is going. Most importantly he is failing to realize how much he needs God to be in this new endeavor in his life.

4. A statement of purpose and significance

Please notice the placement of the period in this statement, it comes after the word “money.” Yes, MONEY and PERIOD! May we learn never ever to put a period after money! Money should never be our purpose, our goal, our aim. We should not make money the reason we live, it should not have this kind of significance in our lives.

Money can buy you: fame, power, houses, cars, and entertainment

Money can’t buy you: Fulfillment, joy, happiness, meaningful relationships, forgiveness, peace, hope, a relationship with God, heaven.

The difference is one of purpose and significance. What is your purpose, where do you find significance?

The Bible is very clear on this one. Money is a bad master, it will enslave you, it will ensnare you, and it will endanger your soul.

Matthew 6:24, 33

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. …

There is a better way and it has to do with the purpose and direction of our life. It has to do with what we are truly seeking and what we place our significance in.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Do you want God’s blessing in your future? Seek his kingdom and righteousness!

Do you want God’s direction in your career? Seek his kingdom and righteousness!

Do you want to find a husband or wife? Seek his kingdom and righteousness!

Do you want to move to another country? Seek his kingdom and righteousness!

Do you want to experience God’s peace and joy? Seek his kingdom and righteousness!

Do you want to be a blessing to others? Seek his kingdom and righteousness!

There is no better advice for old and young than to seek God’s Kingdom!

No one regrets seeking God’s kingdom in their old age

No one regrets seeking God’s kingdom after death

Of course one of the greatest reasons we should seek God’s kingdom is because everything else will vanish.

It will all vanish

James 4:14

14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

I remember as a kid going to the fair and wanting my mother to buy me cotton candy. It was like a child’s dream! A huge piece of sweet goodness. Some of those cotton candy balls were nearly as big as I was! Yet, as soon as you start to eat it, it just seems to vanish. Within a minute or two it is a nasty, sticky, small mess on the end of a piece of cardboard! Wow, it just vanished! After a while, I decided that cotton candy wasn’t my thing!

Let us learn to look at all possessions like cotton candy. I don’t care how much you own or what you own, it is only going to give you temporary use and pleasure.

Luke 12:17–20

17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

How will you use the short time God has given you on earth? Don’t think, “I’m young, I have time, I don’t need to think about these things yet.” None of us know how much time we left. So use your life to seek after things that will not vanish like cotton candy.

1. Be serious about your relationship with God
2. Study your Bible
3. Go to him in prayer
4. Worship together with his people
5. Focus on showing God’s love to those around you
6. Be a servant
7. Show kindness to others
8. Encourage the faith of others
9. Learn to find joy in the simple graces of your life
10. Be thankful
11. Be content
12. Acknowledge God’s present blessings and don’t always be looking for future blessings!

Living in light of God’s will

James 4:15

15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

This is the focus of what James is telling us. The main thing we should be concerned with is following after God’s will and living in God’s will.

We can look at God’s will in two ways:

1. His moral will

To be honest I believe we need to be far more concerned about God’s moral will, although the two are connected. God’s moral will are his righteous laws and truths that dictate how we are to live our life. God’s moral will is known, we can find it in Scripture.

Act 20:27

For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3

3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

God’s will is clear to us. We are to follow God’s moral desires for our life. We are to be pure in heart, mind, and soul. This is the first requirement to following God’s will. Unless we pursue God’s will personally and morally we can not expect to be in God’s will in other areas of life.\

2. His directive will

God’s directive will are the things in life that are not necessarily moral in nature but we must make decisions about them. How do we make decisions about things in life that God doesn’t explicitly talk about in the Bible?

1. We still make plans
2. We acknowledge God’s sovereignty
3. We seek the Lord’s blessing
4. We seek the advice of others
5. We are open to change
6. We don’t put all our hopes in our plans

In the end, we must emphasize the certain over the uncertain in our lives.

Here’s a principle to live by: do what is certain before doing what is uncertain.

Certain

Worship God only

Honor your parents

Don’t commit adultery

Love God and others

Tell the truth

Uncertain

Who should I marry?

Where should I live?

What school should I attend?

What career?

What car should I buy?

Living out God’s will

James 4:17

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

How does this connect with the rest of the passage? James is talking about making decisions about our life direction. Specifically, he’s talking about career choices.

1. Don’t choose your career based upon the size of the salary
2. Don’t choose a career based upon the unfounded promises
3. Don’t choose a career that doesn’t benefit others
4. Choose a career that fits your calling
5. God’s leading
6. God’s gifting
7. God’s blessing
8. Choose a career that is well researched
9. Talk with your parents about it
10. Talk with other respected professionals
11. Talk with other mature Christians who know you
12. Choose a career that glorifies God and is good for others
13. Does it fulfill a true need?
14. Does it benefit society?
15. Can you honestly work this job?
16. Does it allow you to share the love of God?
17. Does it influence individuals in a way that honors God?

Resolve to do good in whatever work you find yourself at the moment. Remember that God used people in unlikely professions for great good when they decided to trust God with their life and simply do the right thing.

1. God used Joseph a prisoner to save a nation
2. God used David a shepherd to lead a nation
3. God used Joseph, a carpenter to raise a savior
4. God used Onesimus, a slave to aid the Apostle Paul in his ministry

Colossians 3:23–24

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Questions for personal reflection

1. What values do my plans reflect?
2. Have I sought God’s will in my plans?
3. Do I need to revise my plans to make them come under God’s will?
4. Am I focusing on doing what is certain first?
5. How could God be using me in my current position for his glory and the good of others?