Filthy Rich
Opening Prayer
Your Word, Lord, about greed is truly “a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Let me get my priorities straight.
Read James 5:1-6
[1] Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. [2] Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. [3] 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. [4] 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. [5] You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. [6] You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Wealth described here is a curse. Can it be otherwise?James now turns to address the wealthy who are without a conscience. Many Christians believe that being wealthy and being Christian are incompatible. Certainly, Jesus indicated that it was hard for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:23). But if you behave like those who are the subject of this passage, be warned. It’s not their wealth that is the issue, says James, but how they came by it, and what they have done with it. They accumulated their wealth by withholding the wages of their workers (4). Worse, they had been instrumental in the death of others (6), so that they could hoard wealth (3) and live in luxury (5). These are greedy robber barons who will bully, intimidate and murder to maintain their way of life. But their time is coming–God has heard the cry of the abused (4). The terror these individuals have inflicted on the innocent will be visited upon them (1). Everything they cherish will depreciate in value and be destroyed (2,3). In the end, they will die outside the kingdom.
Apply
Many seek a life of comfort and self-indulgence. Do you? How do you think God feels about this issue? What might you do to change?
Closing prayer
Mighty God, You burn with passion against injustice and economic slavery. May I demonstrate that, too, in my life.
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