Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

wage."wealth is set forth by James as if itwere already realized. This wealth mayhave been wisely invested according tothe standards of the world. The ownermay have received a veryhigh rate ofinterest. But spiritually speaking it wasunproductive. It is a great test of character to use one's wealth wisely. Onetemptation is to hoard it. In that casewe become misers. These rich men werecondemned because their riches werecorrupted putrid, rotten. The garmentsare moth-eaten (in tatters) and therefore useless,not from use but from thelack of use. They had been stored toolong. The gold is in a state of rust, atleast, figuratively. It was not used. Theused spade is bright. Rust is costly. How,many things become useless, not somuch from use as from rust. What folly to days"lay up treasure for "the lastan expression which describes in partthe days before the Fall of Jerusalem.Some ambitious men prefer to "wear"out rather than "rust" out. There areextremes, of course. But "the unusedtalent (Matt. 25:25-26) was taken fromhim that had it. What is God's attitudetoward unused things? Judging from thestatistics much of the wealth of thisworldeven much of that which is possessed by Christian peopleis used fora purpose for which it should not beused. How manyof God's gifts arewasted! Is our wealth productive or unproductive?2. Is Our Wealth Rightfully AcquiredThe Apostle Paul speaks of this inEph. 4:28. Abraham was a rich man,but there is no evidence that he got hiswealth dishonestly(Genesis 13:2). Evidently it is a great temptation for somewho are in places of power to use oppressive and fraudulent methods. Thehire of the laborers had been withheld."Calvin suggests that it is specially iniquitous that those whose hard toil supplies us with food should themselves bereduced tostarvation.""Plummer remarks, that the hardheartedness of thegrasping employers is indeed conspicuous when not even the joyof theharvest moves them to pay the poor whowork for them their hardly earnedary of James.Alexander Ross in his commentWhat is the difference between fraudand murder? Is there any relation between the Sixth and Eighth Commandments? Can one purchase food if hiswages ere not paid? If employers areoppressive, might labor be equally so?Can the Christian justify fraud, eitherthe fraud of the employers or the fraudof the employees? How much injusticethere is on both sides! Remember theears of the Lord of sabaoth (The Al-October 12, 1955mighty Lord of all hosts) are alwaysopen (Psalm 34:15).3. Is Our Wealth Used Unselfishly?Are we owners or stewards ? In a veryfew words James gives us a very vividdescription of wicked indulgence, an indulgence, no doubt, which seemed tothem at the time as very desirable, butthe end was death (5:5; Luke 16:19-31;Ezekiel 16:49). These ungodly rich havelived in pleasure on the earth nothought of heaven. They lived like brutebeasts that were being prepared for themarket and for slaughterthe day ofjudgment. At the Fall of Jerusalem therich Jews were slaughtered withoutmercy. This was a very real fulfillmentof these words. There have been manyfulfillmentsone of the most awful wasin Germany under Hitler. Who can understand the "weeping and howling" ofthe condemned?(5:1). These terribleresults of gross selfishness are not limited to the Jews only. Why would anyone, understanding the meaning of thisverse, be envious of those who are living in pleasures . . .nourishing theirhearts as in the day of slaughter? Thiswas the problem of the Psalmist as recorded in Psalm 73. "Ye have condemned and killed the justthe righteous"(v. 6). Does this have referenceto the crucifixion of the Lord JesusChrist? All through history godly prophets had been so treated (Matt. 23:37;Acts 7:59-60).Questions:1. Is wealth a test of character?2. What are some of the dangers ofmaterialism?3. Does James have a message forour time?Prayer:'1. That we may be good stewards.2. That we may be grateful for God'sunfailing and gracious love.3. That our missionaries may beblessed.4. That the editors of the COVENANTER WITNESS," "CHRISTIANSTATESMAN"OT""CHRISTIAN PATRIand "BLUE BANNER FAITHAND LIFE" may use wisely the opportunity to publish the truth.A friend is one who comes in when therest of the world goes out.Order your Minutes of SynodNOWFrom C. R. Fox, 209 Ninth St.,Pittsburgh 22, Pa,Price $1.00W. M. S. DepartmentMrs. Ross Latimer. Editor.Prayer Hour, 1:00 P.M. MondayIOWA W M. S. PRESBYTERIALThe 65th annual meeting of IowaPresbyterial was held at Hopkinton,Iowa on September 28, 1955. The meeting was in charge of Mrs. Waldo Mitchel, President. The morning session opened with devotionals by Rev. J. E. McElroy. Reports of the Superintendentswere given. The nominating committeereport was heard, and ballots for election of officers were passed out.The afternoon sessionopened withdevotionals led by Mrs. Pearl McElhinney of Morning Sun. The election of officers followed with the officers beingelected as follows :President, Mrs. JohnEdgar; Vice President, Mrs. CharlesPeterman; Corresponding Secretary,Mrs. Ralph Todd; Recording Secretary,Mrs. Raymond Joseph; Treasurer, Mrs.Lyle Joseph; Foreign Missions Superintendent, Mrs. Dale Blair; Home MissionsSuperintendent, Mrs. Walter Hutcheson;Literature & Mission, Mrs. Lois Honeyman; Temperance, Mrs. Robert Baird;Thankoffering, Mrs. Merritt McElhinney; Standard ol Efficiency, Mrs. Phoebe Blair; Juniors, Mrs. Robert Harsh.The topic "Co-Workers with Christ"was discussed by the group. The speaker for the afternoon was Rev. HerbertHayes who gave a very interesting talkon the Mission work in Syria and told ofthe many problems facing the missionaries there and asked for our prayersfor the work.Prayer for the foreign missions wasoffered by Martha Wilson of MorningSun.Praise service was conducted by Mrs.Raymond Joseph and following this,the memorial service was held with Mrs.J. E. McElroy in charge. Those beingremembered were: Miss Minnie Anderson and Miss Margaret Greer of Hopkinton; Mrs. Etta Jane McClure, Mrs.C. B. Wilson, Miss Susanna Henderson,and Mrs. Mary Patterson of MorningSun; Mrs. Bertha Torrens, Lake Reno.Mrs. John Edgar led in prayer at theclose of the memorial service.Devotionals for the opening of theevening session were in charge of Rev.John Edgar.The young people of the Hopkintoncongregation then presented a very fineprogram, using the Thank Offering astheir theme. It was greatly enjoyed bythe group.Rev. Herbert Hayes brought the messages for the evening. Mr. Hayes gavean inspirating talk on the great needtodayfor the Word of God to be spread237