James 5:1-6 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. (2) Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. (4) Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (5) You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (6) You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
These verses in James are some of the most severe in his entire letter. He condemns the sins of the rich, proclaims their failures, and rebukes them for their self indulgence and luxurious lifestyles. James isn’t saying that having money or being rich is a sin per se, rather, he is condemning those who trust in their riches rather than God, store up their riches, treat their workers poorly, and live in unnecessary luxury.
In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us, “(19)Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, (20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Where is your treasure? Jesus tells us that our treasure should be in heavenly things. This means that we are to use what the Lord has given us for the things of God. Rather than storing our clothes in the closet for moths to destroy, give them to the poor and needy. Rather than storing up our treasure for future need, use it to feed the hungry, clothe those without, provide care for the sick, and for spreading the message of the Gospel.
Then he addresses how we treat those who work for us. Whether in ministry or in business, the worker is due his wages. I have seen businesses and ministries alike withhold wages or pay less than is legal for the sake of making more money. Rather than paying what is due and trusting in the Lord for the provision, they withhold in order to have more in the bank in case they need it later. James says that the Lord sees this and will avenge them. Though the laborer has no way to resolve this, the Lord will in due time expose and reward the laborer and punish the rich for paying inadequate wages.
He then moves into luxurious living. How can a man or woman of the Lord waste their money on expensive homes and cars, elegant clothing, and fancy restaurants when there are so many people in desperate need? We spend millions of dollars on buildings, sound systems, vehicles, etc… all the while there are thousands of people starving to death every day. We give a token amount from our excess and then spend the rest on ourselves in order to have the best of the best in our churches and in our personal lives. I don’t believe James is talking about the “super wealthy” people, rather, he is talking to those of us who have enough each day and the excess gets spent on comfort rather than used to meet the needs of others.
Living in luxury and comfort is like sending the calf to the feed lot before it gets slaughtered. They feed them and feed them day after day in order to fatten them simply to slaughter them in the end. When our lives are filled with wealth, indulgence, luxury, and comfort we are simply living a life of ease all the way to an eternal life of torment. How we spend our money and treat people is a direct indicator of how much we trust in the Lord for caring for us. If we spend it on ourselves we are saying to the Lord that we don’t trust that he will provide if we share our wealth with others.
These are some hard words from James. They cut to the heart of how we spend our money, treat those who work for us, and care for the needy around us. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth can not destroy and thieves can not break in and steal. That is a true indicator of what is inside your heart.
Prayer
Lord, help me today to trust in you for my money and wealth. Even though I have little, I know I have more than most of the people in the world. You have blessed me and I want to be a blessing to others as I trust in you. I want my treasure to be in heavenly things rather than in the things here on earth. Amen.