A great reminder for Charles Swindoll:
In 1923, an elite group of businessmen met at the luxurious Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. The roster included some of the most influential, famous, and wealthy moguls of the early twentieth century. These men were among them:
- Charles M. Schwab—president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation
- Richard Whitney—president of the New York Stock Exchange
- Albert Fall—Secretary of the Interior under President Harding
- Jesse Livermore—Wall Street tycoon
- Ivar Kreuger—head of a global monopoly of match manufacturers
These heavy hitters controlled more wealth than the total assets of the United States Treasury at the time. Surely these men would become models of the entrepreneurial spirit and stellar examples of financial success. But fast-forward about twenty-five years or so and look back on the courses of their lives:
- Schwab—died $300,000 in debt in 1939
- Whitney—served time at Sing Sing prison for embezzlement
- Fall—served time for misconduct in office, leaving behind a ruined reputation
- Livermore—committed suicide in 1940, describing himself as “a failure”
- Kreuger—shot himself in 1932 after his global monopoly collapsed
Buried beneath the rubble of humiliation, defeat, crime, sickness, and financial collapse, these men—along with a number of their colleagues—died in a depressing, pitiable condition. Their wealth, power, and prestige did nothing to soothe the personal anxiety and guilt they suffered in life. The reality is that great intelligence and hard work can make a person wealthy. But it takes God-given wisdom and supernatural humility to be able to manage wealth and influence.
In 3:13–5:6, James develops the theme that real faith produces genuine humility. We’ve already heard James remind us that our goodness comes from God-given wisdom, not our own (3:13-18). He called us to turn to God, not ourselves, for peaceful relationships (4:1-10). And he warned us against playing God instead of submitting to God’s sovereignty (4:11-17). Now, James rails against the pride that so easily deludes the wealthy of this world (5:1-6). In each case, James encourages God-enabled humility.
Insights On James, 1 & 2 Peter: 13 (Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, Charles Swindoll