Church Leadership, Wealth, and Privilege

James 2:1-9
"My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors."

A few days ago I read a really good post on Dr. Albert Mohler's website (find post here). In it he addressed the sale of a personal letter from Albert Einstein to a friend of his in which he (Einstein) dismisses belief in God as "childish." This letter should put an end to the claim of many evangelicals that claim Einstein as a Believer and rabidly defend this...as if the Truth depends on whether or not this or that individual believes in Him. This whole thought reminds me of that shirt and bumper sticker I've seen in which a picture of Friedrich Nietzsche is shown with that infamous quote "God is dead." The next image shows the stereotypical image of God made famous by Michelangelo (the bearded man pointing a finger) and the following quote: "Nietzsche is dead." You see, God's power and existence does not depend upon the belief of any person, no matter how great in the world's eyes they may be. He simply IS! And when mankind puts his puny efforts into toppling our Almighty God from His throne, it is He that shall have the last laugh.

Indeed, look at Psalm 2:1-3 which states:
"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”

God's reply?

Psalm 2:4-6
"He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”

So let's see...the kings of the earth think they will set themselves free from the Sovereignty of God...yet the true King scoffs at them and His will is still accomplished!

So returning to Mohler's blog...he writes the following:

The emergence of the letter from Albert Einstein to Eric Gutkind goes a long way toward setting the record straight. Evangelical Christians are prone to over-excitement when any famous person, living or dead, is claimed as a believer in God. This is not an attractive habit, and it often leads to intellectual embarrassment. The truth of the Gospel and the reality of the self-revealing God are not enhanced by vague expressions of a non-theistic spirituality or a sense of nothing more than an inexplicable sense of meaning in the cosmos.

Beyond this, the witness of an honest Christian is far more powerful than a listing of the rich, intelligent, and powerful who may or may not have believed in some kind of God. Attempts to claim Einstein for theism reveal a deep intellectual insecurity.

Truly Mohler speaks powerfully here. Because this, I believe, is exactly where one of the biggest challenges lies for the modern church in America. This is why I started this post with James 2:1-9, because it is so applicable to this sin that Mohler refers to...the sin of favoritism towards those with fame and/or money. The church today extols the standars of the book of James while practicing the very opposite every day! People who are well off do not need to attend a church for very long before they are invited to teach or even to preach from the pulpit. People of wealth are immediately placed a step above those without it...because obviously the money they possess is a sign of God's blessings upon them! This at least is how the church behaves! Indeed, the pastors are usually the very first to give this person a place of honor within the church...sometimes letting in false teachers who will mislead many, to the shame of that pastor.

The shameful behavior of such church leaders makes me think of one of my favorite movies, "The Fiddler on the Roof." Do you remember the song "If I was a rich man"? Do you recall how the main character sings about what he would do if he himself were rich? The most telling point of the whole song contains the following words:

The most important men in town would come to fawn on me!
They would ask me to advise them, Like a Solomon the Wise.
"If you please, Reb Tevye..."
"Pardon me, Reb Tevye..."
Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes!
And it won't make one bit of difference if i answer right or wrong.
When you're rich, they think you really know!
(emphasis mine)

That last part speaks volumes of how people view people of wealth! Have you not observed the same yourself? Have money? You can't be wrong! And as silly as this is in the secular world, it is a travesty, a disgrace, and completetly sad when it happens within the church! Indeed, "if you show partiality you commit sin, are are convicted by the law as transgressors." Why is that? Why does James speak so strongly? I think it is because of what I've already said...because this partiality towards the rich blinds the church and allows the false teachers into the church! I mean, seriously, does money allow a person to view the Bible more clearly? You would think so the way church leaders fall over themselves to welcome in someone who smells of money, driving into the parking lot in their shiny new cars, perfectly groomed, etc...

But you may think to yourself...am I just being petty and jealous? Maybe! :)

Seriously though...there are times when I wish I had more material comforts than what I have right now...I wish I did not have to worry about the gas to go to church, or about how much milk I'm drinking 'cause we can't afford to buy more. But I fight against these thoughts...I want so much to be like Paul who said that he had "learned in whatever state [he was] to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." (Ephesians 4:11-12)

So yes, there are times when I fail and begin to covet...but those are times of weakness. Knowing myself all too well I know that riches would turn me into a horrible person. I would become materialistic and greedy and so I stronlgy believe that the Lord keeps me in my current financial state because He loves me. I take comfort from that thought above all. So in reality it is not jealousy that leads me to write this post, but sadness. I have belonged to three churches in the last 10 to 12 years, and in every one of them I observed this failure to obey the Word of God. Even from a preacher that taught through the book of James for quite some time! So I write this in order to plead with anyone reading this to cleanse our ways...to repent of this sin as a church, to uphold our church leaders in whatever churches you are, that they may truly honor His Word and protect His sheep. Let us keep out the wolves even when they come with full wallets!

Amen?