Now
listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on
you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver
are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like
fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your
fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the
ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have
fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. (James 5:1-6)
No
one would want to be rich if they read this advice from James the leader of the
church in Jerusalem. These are harsh
words that make the steak you may have eaten last night sour in your stomach. How do you define if you are rich anyway?
I
know that I am rich compared to the rest of the world. Does the fact that I have food, shelter and
air conditioning mean that I am setting myself up for misery in the
future? James seems to be focusing on a
certain kind of rich person who should become aware of his true plight. He is talking about anyone with wealth and
hoards it, doesn’t pay workers a fair rate, lives in luxury, self-indulgence,
condemning and bringing death to the innocent.
When
I think if it that way I still can’t rule myself out of James’ blunt warning. I’m not sure if the workers who sewed the
clothes I bought, or picked the blueberries I eat were paid fairly. I don’t have the time or interest to check out
every purchase I make. I can only
imagine that I have contributed to the poverty of the world by my purchases and
that my participation in a global economy has left innocent people around the
world crying out to God for mercy.
Why did
James make such a sharp warning to the church in his one and only letter? Shouldn’t he be addressing these thoughts
about those who were outside the fold?
Wouldn’t the church-type people be beyond this kind of problem? Is James implying that poverty the only
option for a true Christian?
I’m only
writing about these verses because I don’t like them. I don’t think they are fair. I feel condemned by them. I sit here with writing on my laptop in my
air-conditioned home, with a full stomach knowing that the world is full of
hungry, hurting people.
One think I
know for sure is that this passage causes me to realize that every choice I
make about the riches God has given to me to manage matters a lot to God. He doesn’t give me riches so that I become
careless in how I spend it and whether I am cheating anyone of a fair labor. God knows that my natural inclination is
toward hoarding riches, using it in self-indulgent ways, or cheating workers
out of a fair wage. He wants me to be
thoughtful about how I spend the riches He has given me. It’s a huge responsibility. I need His help to make the right decision
about how I spend what He has given to me.
Copyright © 2015.
Deborah R Newman
teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights
Reserved.
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