The book Of James Pt. 50 A Grudging Heart Displeases God.

Patience is a great virtue. 

James 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 

The apostle James taught us very carefully about having patience rule our lives. 

He followed this truth by giving us spiritual realities, telling us how our lives will be, when we are patiently waiting for the Lord to return. 

This means making the kind of effort that will not give up no matter how bad our circumstances become. 

Patience is like a long distance runner pacing himself throughout the race so that he can finish well.

The idea of waiting patiently for Christ to return, is connected with spiritual stamina that forms in us when we allow the Spirit of God to lead and guide our steps.

Our hearts must be firmly fixed on God's Word. 

James 5:8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 

Here are the first descriptions of a Christian who is obediently waiting patiently for the Lord to return.

The apostle James wants us to see that each Christian has a duty to work for Christ, worship God, and wait patiently for Jesus to return. 

Thus, we must have our hearts firmly fixed upon all of the promises of God in Christ. Otherwise, we will have faith that wavers.

Really, the Christian life is to believe what God says, and to obey Him. 

The sin of a grudging heart.

James 5:9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. 

This is the second trait of a Christian patiently waiting for the Lord. This is another imperative commanding Christians to stop complaining about each other, or about how bad our situation is. 

The words "grudge not" has the idea of a Christian groaning and moaning, if we are asked to help another believer in need. 

Grudging also has the idea of murmuring and complaining about the trials of life and the testing of our faith. Yet, James already showed us that these are good gifts from God.

A grudging heart is one filled with grumbling and complaining about having to doing something for others. 

"Grudging not" means do not sigh or moan about our own troubles or if someone elses troubles infringe upon what we want to do. 

In modern terms, grudging means we would be guilty of rolling our eyes, just like teens often do when parents ask them to pick up their room. 

The act of grudging essentially says that we want to do whatever pleases us, instead of what is pleasing our Lord. 

Therefore, grudging is a serious sin in the church. Like other sins such as showing partiality, it should not be found in us.

God's law condemns a grudging heart. 

Leviticus 19:18  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. 

James makes his point about grudging against other Christians, because God says it is a sin to do so.

In the law God gave to Moses, He specifically says, "Do not bear any grudge against the children of thy people."

The word "grudge" has to do with being discontented with our situation and envious of someone else, whom we think is better off than we are. 

It means to be reluctant offer help to someone else in need, like being dragged into helping against our will.

Thus, a grudging heart is a sinful heart that does not reflect the love of Christ for us. 

God loves a cheerful giver, not a grudging one.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7  But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7)  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 

A Christian whose heart struggles with the command to "grudge not" is probably struggling when it comes to financially supporting gospel ministry.

The apostle Paul tells us that those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly. A grudging Christian may give only a few dollars to support their local church, when they are capable of giving more. 

Their heart is grudging because they have not learned that we are stewards of all that God gives us, whether much or little.  

The Christian who supports gospel ministry grudgingly, has a problem with the command to "grudge not." 

Yet, Christians who give liberally to their local church, enjoy the blessing of God. 

God takes note of our heart when we serve Him, through worship, witnessing, working in the ministry, or raising our families according to the scriptures. 

God takes note of our heart and how we support our local church and pastor. 

Our Lord loves a cheerful giver, but a grudging giver will suffer shame and embarrassment, when Jesus Christ tries our works with fire (See Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:9-15).

God loves cheerful Christian hospitality. 

1 Peter 4:9  Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 

The gift of hospitality is one of the gifts from the Spirit of God at work in our hearts. The word "hospitality" means being generous to guests. 

Hospitality connects with the early church sharing meals and fellowship in one another's homes, enjoying their new relationship as born again believers. 

Paul speaks of Christians who are "given to hospitality" and who are "lovers of hospitality" (See Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8). 

Opening our home to host other Christians, is not always easy. We want our home to be clean and presentable. We want to have a time filled with good food, fellowship, fun and worship. 

Thus, the gift of hospitality requires some of our time, energy, and some expense in preparing for some of the meal. 

Imagine a Christian couple where one wants to open their home to other Christian families, but the other has a grudging heart, because he is thinking only of the cost involved and the extra work. 

The one opposed to hosting Christian families in this case, misses out completely, on the rich blessing of being given to hospitality.  

God's law encourages hospitality.

Leviticus 19:33-34  And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. 34)  But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 

Therefore, a Christian with a grudging heart toward hospitality, is going to suffer shame when Christ appears and tries our service for Him. 

God's law tells us that we are to be a blessing to strangers in the land, which includes helping them with food, clothing or shelter. 

In short, we are to offer hospitality to strangers, and especially to other Christians. 

Mark 9:41  For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.

Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that when we are hospitable to others, we will be blessed. In Christ's teaching on the judgment of sheep and the goats, the blessed sheep met the basic needs of the poor and oppressed.

They offered hospitality by giving food, drink, clothing and shelter to those who were in need. 

My wife and I have been blessed to share meals with other families from our church. We have also been blessed by opening our home to share a meal with other families from our church.

Yes, it takes some work and energy. But, we have enjoyed many wonderful meals together. 

One thing we like to do after we have eaten, and gotten caught up with what is going on in each others lives, is that we like to sing. 

We pass out hymnals so that each person can pick out their favorite hymn. Then, we sit in a circle and sing to our Lord. 

I cannot begin to tell you how much joy it brings us, and how God pours out His blessing upon these precious moments together. 

However, if we had a grudging heart, we would miss out on all the blessing, and the close relationships God has given us with our church family.

Cheerful hospitality modeled by the early church. 

Acts 2:46-47  And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47)  Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. 

The snapshot of the early church captures the joy of salvation, the beauty of Christian fellowship and blessing of Christian friendships. 

All that these believers did was centered around Jesus Christ and learning His Word. They went from house to house, sharing meals and basking in a truly wonderful time of fellowship. 

They praised God when they met together in the temple and in their homes. 

The grudging heart is set against the blessings that God wants to give us. We need our church family to be a close knit community of Christian brothers and sisters in the Lord, of all ages. 

We Christians need each other, and we can be a rich blessing to one another. God designed His church for this. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

James 5:9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. 

The motivation to confess the sin of a grudging heart and to ask for the Lord to transform us, is in the fact that Jesus is returning one day. 

Romans 14:10-12  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11)  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12)  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 

Paul reminds us that when one Christian has an issue with another, we are not to start judging each other, or withdrawing from each other.

Why? Because we are all going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ, for our works and faithfulness and service to Jesus will be rewarded. Or, we may suffer loss of reward, because we had a grudging heart. 

Mark it down. We will give an account to God. 

Let us confess a grudging spirit and ask the Lord to do whatever it takes to remove it. Let us ask our Lord to give us His heart, a heart that tirelessly ministered and gave to others, asking nothing in return. 

Let us desire to be more like Jesus and less like ourselves.

Bob