Page 29 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

Study Section 6: A Christian Viewpoint Toward Material Pursuits and
Exhortations.

6.1 Connect

Some of the richest people in the world are the most unhappy! There is a ton of research that
shows that wealthier people are not happier people. Consider results from a series of
studies conducted by Paul Piff and his colleagues from the University of Berkeley. In one study,
participants were paired to play a game of Monopoly. The game was rigged so that one of the
participants quickly became far wealthier than the other. The researchers then observed, through
a one-way mirror, the participants’ behaviors. It turned out that the wealthier a participant grew, the
meaner he/she progressively became. For example, the wealthier participants started assuming more
dominant postures and began talking down to their “poorer” counterparts. They also consumed a greater
share of a bowl of pretzels meant to be shared equally. Results from another study showed similar effects:
when given $10 and told that they could contribute any or all of it to another participant, the richer
participants contributed, on average, 44% less. (https://hbr.org/2016/06/why-rich-people-arent-as-happy-as-
they-could-be)

Todays passage of Scripture talks about how wealth can be a dead-end pursuit toward fulfillment. And
often, the wealthy person is the one who oppresses others to obtain their wealth. Let’s dive in…

6.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to know how to handle wealth in accordance with God’s
pleasure.

2. The student should be able to know that everyone’s wealth should be spent in accordance
with God’s pleasure.

3. The student should be able to identify and describe ways that can help those who are exploited to
endure waiting on the Lord’s second coming which will culminate into their revenge to their exploiting
masters.

4. The student should be able explain and apply principles that should help him/her to cope with any of
his/her own moody but also of that one where she resides.

6.3 A Christian Viewpoint toward Material Pursuits and Exhortations (Jas. 5:1-19).

Perceiving the Pride that Comes from the Possession of Wealth through Oppression
of Others (Jas. 5:1-6).

How is James 5 connected to the previous chapters? Notice the similarities between James
4:13 and 5:1. In both of those scripture references, James is rebuking the worldly pride and
selfishness associated with wealth. Further, James had already (but in brief) addressed the problem
associated with the accumulation of wealth (for selfish gain) which in most cases (if not all) brings
negative consequences (cf. Jas. 1:11). It is connected because here (in Jas. 5), James seemingly qualify

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