BRUCE C WEARNE continues his look at the Epistle of James with an examination of his words of warning to the wealthy at the start of chapter five…
Listen up you rich folk, weep and lament profoundly, over the sufferings about to overwhelm you. Your wealth is corrupted, your wardrobe is moth- eaten. Your gold and silver have been de-valued, losing all their shine, while their poison will be evidence against you, like fire feeding off your flesh, the fibres of your life. You amassed all this for the last days.
Take careful note!
The wages of the labourers who have mown your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have come to the notice of the mighty Lord of hosts. You have continuously treated yourself and indulged many pleasures; you have taken nourishment for your hearts on a day of horrendous slaughter. You have used the law to condemn and have murdered the righteous person; he does not stand up to you. – James 5:1-6/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne
Is wealth bad in itself? Bruce C Wearne says James is not suggesting wealth is sin; rather he is denouncing the way people define themselves in their hearts. PICTURE: Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash.
IN A NUTSHELL
James is not asking the wealthy to examine themselves to ascertain whether they are liable to God’s judgment. He tells them that those who identify themselves by their wealth are already on the wrong path.
We have considered the letter as a New Testament book of proverbs. Parts of this letter are composed as short poems, psalms to be sung alongside the Old Testament book of worship. We have also noted how, in various parts, the letter echoes the teaching recorded from the ministry of Jesus, the well- known “sermon on the mount” (Matthew 5-7; Luke 6:17-49) in particular.
The letter also breathes the announcements of the Old Testament prophets. James jolts those tempted by the lure of mammon (see Matthew 6:24), and in no uncertain terms asks them, “What side are you on?”
This is an apocalyptic diagnostic, encouraging followers of the Lord to re- consider how they identify themselves when they “draw nigh to God” (4:8). Do they stand with the Righteous One? To see themselves as wealthy folk is to make a big mistake with significant consequences. Who can ever say they have lived up to the responsibilities that are affixed to the Lord’s abundant bequests?
What is James trying to suggest here? Is it that wealth is sin? No. This prophetic denunciation is of the way people in their hearts define themselves. Was the diaspora the occasion for them to grow wealthy? If so, as rich and wealthy people before the Righteous One, then their obligation to the One bestowing every good and perfect gift is as it has always been.
Do they presume to stand before Him as those possessing something they can give to Him?
It is to such a mind that James directs his diagnostic. To define oneself and one’s relationship to God by what one has accumulated is to forsake the cause of the righteous one from the heart (5:6).
“Listen up!” James is not having a poke at those who have inherited money, power or status. Read Chapter 4:1-12 again to keep the thematic unity of the letter in view.
This is about standing before God. This is about the meaning of life. This is about submitting to His will, about resisting the devil. To draw near to God is to accept our status as stewards of His gifts. James goes on to discuss this, but here the prophetic exposé points out the destination of the wealth of those who define themselves as the rich and famous, of those who harbour some belief in their hearts that somehow or other the meaning of their life is to be secured by their wealth. It isn’t. Our life is a gift of His grace (4:6).
OPEN BOOK: PROVERBS FOR A NEW COVENANT – LISTEN UP! WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?
BRUCE C WEARNE continues his look at the Epistle of James with an examination of his words of warning to the wealthy at the start of chapter five…
Listen up you rich folk, weep and lament profoundly, over the sufferings about to overwhelm you. Your wealth is corrupted, your wardrobe is moth- eaten. Your gold and silver have been de-valued, losing all their shine, while their poison will be evidence against you, like fire feeding off your flesh, the fibres of your life. You amassed all this for the last days.
Take careful note!
The wages of the labourers who have mown your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have come to the notice of the mighty Lord of hosts. You have continuously treated yourself and indulged many pleasures; you have taken nourishment for your hearts on a day of horrendous slaughter. You have used the law to condemn and have murdered the righteous person; he does not stand up to you. – James 5:1-6/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne
Is wealth bad in itself? Bruce C Wearne says James is not suggesting wealth is sin; rather he is denouncing the way people define themselves in their hearts. PICTURE: Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash.
IN A NUTSHELL
James is not asking the wealthy to examine themselves to ascertain whether they are liable to God’s judgment. He tells them that those who identify themselves by their wealth are already on the wrong path.
We have considered the letter as a New Testament book of proverbs. Parts of this letter are composed as short poems, psalms to be sung alongside the Old Testament book of worship. We have also noted how, in various parts, the letter echoes the teaching recorded from the ministry of Jesus, the well- known “sermon on the mount” (Matthew 5-7; Luke 6:17-49) in particular.
The letter also breathes the announcements of the Old Testament prophets. James jolts those tempted by the lure of mammon (see Matthew 6:24), and in no uncertain terms asks them, “What side are you on?”
This is an apocalyptic diagnostic, encouraging followers of the Lord to re- consider how they identify themselves when they “draw nigh to God” (4:8). Do they stand with the Righteous One? To see themselves as wealthy folk is to make a big mistake with significant consequences. Who can ever say they have lived up to the responsibilities that are affixed to the Lord’s abundant bequests?
What is James trying to suggest here? Is it that wealth is sin? No. This prophetic denunciation is of the way people in their hearts define themselves. Was the diaspora the occasion for them to grow wealthy? If so, as rich and wealthy people before the Righteous One, then their obligation to the One bestowing every good and perfect gift is as it has always been.
Do they presume to stand before Him as those possessing something they can give to Him?
It is to such a mind that James directs his diagnostic. To define oneself and one’s relationship to God by what one has accumulated is to forsake the cause of the righteous one from the heart (5:6).
“Listen up!” James is not having a poke at those who have inherited money, power or status. Read Chapter 4:1-12 again to keep the thematic unity of the letter in view.
This is about standing before God. This is about the meaning of life. This is about submitting to His will, about resisting the devil. To draw near to God is to accept our status as stewards of His gifts. James goes on to discuss this, but here the prophetic exposé points out the destination of the wealth of those who define themselves as the rich and famous, of those who harbour some belief in their hearts that somehow or other the meaning of their life is to be secured by their wealth. It isn’t. Our life is a gift of His grace (4:6).
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