“The Wicked Rich”
James 5:1-6
Message #13 in James Series
2
August 2020
INTRODUCTION:
Our text for this week is right off
the front page of hundreds of newspapers, as well as all sorts of electronic
news media. Since the start of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement back in
September 2011 we have seen many similar movements not only in North America
but also in many cities of Western Europe and the UK. While there is certainly
a mixed message coming from these protesters, there is also a recurring
theme: “We are unhappy because the
rich are getting richer, while the poor and oppressed are getting poorer by the
day. Banks and corporations are stealing our wealth and not paying their
fair share. They are getting away with murder!” In other words, these
thousands of protesters are rising and reacting to the social class they call, “THE WICKED RICH.”
While many of us are also frustrated
with the way our governments have been handling things, most of us are also sceptical
about the efficacy of these demonstrations in the streets of our cities to bring
about any significant and lasting changes. However, they still serve to
illustrate a point. Most people know instinctually that there are two kinds
of wealthy people: (1) Those who made their money through hard work,
long hours, and much sacrifice; and (2) Those who either inherited it,
or got rich through dishonesty or taking advantage of other people.
TRANSITION:
The Bible has a lot to say about
wealth, including the right way to get it and the correct attitude
that we Christians should have toward it. People often misquote the Bible
and ignorantly repeat the old saying that “Money is the root of all evil.” But
that is not what the Bible says. Nowhere does the Bible allege that money per
se is evil. Rather, the apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:6-10, “But godliness
with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the
world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and
clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich
fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money,
have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
In this study we want to exam what
the Bible teaches us about wealth as seen through the eyes of James in James
5:1-6. In verses 1-3 James explains that possessing riches can
turn out to be a curse. In the verses 4-6 he warns that pursuing
riches can be an even bigger curse.
MAIN BODY:
Verse 1: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which
are coming upon you.
- Many commentators claim that James was
not speaking here to Christians but to unbelievers. I am not so sure about
that. Up until now in this letter he has been speaking to Christ’s
followers, so why would he suddenly switch gears? Why would he even bother
to give this teaching if it did not apply in some way to believers? No, I
think the warning given here applies to all men, believers, and
nonbelievers alike.
- Throughout the NT we find warnings to
the rich, not that possessing wealth is in-and-of itself immoral but because
the Bible places a greater stewardship upon rich people, puts them
under a greater burden of responsibility. This goes along with Jesus’
warning found in Luke 12:48, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be
required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the
more.” From God’s vantage point wealth is not intended for
selfish exploitation.
- I believe that the “weeping and
howling” here in verse 1 are not signs of repentance and
sorrow for their wrongs, but the expressions of the rich of their
frustration and anger in the face of God’s impending Day of Judgment. God
wants their wealth invested for Him in His Kingdom, not
hoarded for their own pleasure and security.
Verse 2: Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become
moth-eaten.
- Notice that both verbs in this
sentence are in the perfect tense: “…have rotted… have become moth-eaten.”
To God it is already a done deal. Biblically speaking, wealth is to be
used for righteous purposes, not hoarded, or stored up for a rainy day. That
goes along with what I said a moment ago about the stewardship of riches. Besides,
money is like milk or raw meat—it does not store well. It tends to
go “bad.” According to Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21 it rusts, rots, gets stolen,
and becomes moth-eaten. Listen: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20
But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moths and
vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
- Some of us know what it feels like to
have the moths eat our money. Over the past few years many of us have lost pensions and other investment monies. The money we have been socking away for
years so that we could retire someday has pretty much gone up in smoke. For
that reason, many of us can certainly relate to James’ words here about
our wealth rotting away and becoming moth-eaten. Money is just not
something you can count on. It can disappear in a heartbeat if the stock
market tanks!
Verse 3: Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will
be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the
last days that you have stored up your treasure!
- If you leave metal objects laying out
in the weather, they will surely rust. I have accidentally done that a few times
with tools—left them laying on the deck or someplace where they got wet. Very
quickly they begin to rust. The rust leaves a stain on whatever the tool
happens to be sitting on. Even after you take the tool away and store it
where it belongs, the rust stain is there as a reminder of your
foolishness.
- Do not get lost in the metaphor here. We
all know that gold does not rust or corrode, although silver does tarnish.
We also know that rust does not normally work like an acid and burn the
skin. But here James says that in
the Day of Judgment the rust from the misused wealth will “consume your
flesh like fire.” He is using figurative language to say that
the rust of the hoarded wealth will serve as a witness against the rich,
because God meant for their wealth to be used for the good of mankind and
for the glory of God, not to be selfishly hoarded and stored up for them.
Verse 4: Behold, the pay of the labourers who mowed your fields, and
which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those
who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
- Starting here in verse 4 through the
end of verse 6 James points out that the pursuit of money and riches can
turn out to be a curse.
- In verse 4 James is obviously speaking
about unfair labour practices—a rich farmer refusing to pay his workers
what he owes them, withholding their just wages. The labourers protested
and asked for what they rightly had coming but the farmer just turned a
deaf ear. However, James says, God was listening to their cries.
Their pleas reached His ears. He was paying attention and saw everything
the farmer did to them. “The Lord of Sabaoth”
means “the Lord of Hosts
[referring to heavenly hosts]” or “the Lord of the Armies.” It is a title that emphasizes God’s power,
authority, and sovereign omnipotence. He is not a God to be messed with! And
He has a very tender spot in His heart toward the poor and does not like
anyone who hurts them or threatens them. This was made clear in the Law of
Moses way back in Deuteronomy 24:14-15, “Do not take advantage of a hired worker
who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a
foreigner residing in one of your towns. 15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because
they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the LORD
against you, and you will be guilty of sin.”
- Likewise, in Ezekiel 18:12-13 the
prophet talked about the fact that the wicked rich will be judged by the
Righteous Almighty One: “He [the wicked rich man] oppresses the poor and
needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He
looks to the idols. He does detestable things. 13 He lends at
interest and takes a profit. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he
has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood
will be on his own head.” Now that is what I call a “heavy-duty
threat.”
Verse 5: You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of
wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
- Another sin of the
rich in this indictment was their extravagant, luxurious living, implying
that this was going on while they were surrounded by people living in
poverty all around them. But James says that all this pleasure was just fattening
them up for the day of slaughter, much the way we fatten up cattle on
corn and tasty expensive feed to get them ready for the butcher. I believe
that James is basing his comment on Jeremiah 12. In verses 1-2 of that
passage Jeremiah expresses his frustration with the Lord allowing the
wicked to prosper: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why
do all the faithless live at ease? 2 You have planted them, and
they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their
lips but far from their hearts.” Then, down in verse 3 the
prophet begs the Lord to give them what they have coming: “Drag them
off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!”
I believe that it is this Day of Judgment to which James is referring.
Verse 6: You have condemned and put to death the righteous man;
he does not resist you.
- Some commentators have tried to
spiritualize this verse and say that James is speaking of Jesus
when he says, “You have condemned and put to death the righteous
man.” They say that this verse refers to Isaiah 53, which
speaks about Jesus who opened not his mouth before His accusers, nor
resisted His attackers.
- However, this interpretation does
injury to the text because it is not supported by the context. We have no
right or authority to pull a verse out of its natural setting and make it
say whatever we want it to say. And that interpretation simply does not
fit the context, nor go along with what James has been saying up to this
point. By “the righteous man” James is referring to the workers up
in verse 4 who have a just cause before their unjust employer. They are
“in the right” and their unjust boss is “in the wrong.” James is not
talking here about the poor man’s salvation but about his right to receive
what he has worked for.
- “You have condemned and
put to death the righteous man.” James is speaking here using hyperbole
(exaggeration or overstatement). He has already talked about how poor
people were being dragged into debtor’s court and charged unjustly (cf.
2:6). Now he is pointing out that when a poor man is hauled into court, he
has little recourse and can do nothing to defend himself. He is completely
at the mercy of the unscrupulous rich man. Yet even in the face of this
mistreatment, the poor man does not resist. In chapter 34:21-22 of the
apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus there is a statement that serves to
illustrate James’ argument: “The bread of the needy is the life of the poor;
whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood. To take away a neighbour’s
living is to murder him; to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed
blood.”
- James is here pointing out the
ultimate viciousness of greed and fraud: it often ends in murder
because avarice will stop at nothing.
CONCLUSION:
I believe that James had several
purposes in mind for writing these six verses. First, he wanted to show us the utter worthlessness of all
earthly riches when compared to real spiritual wealth. Secondly, he wanted to show the despicableness of those who
possess earthly riches and squander them on their own pleasures rather than
invest them in the Kingdom of God. In so doing he hoped to prevent his
readers from putting their hopes, aims, and desires on earthly things rather
than heavenly things. And thirdly, I
believe that James was reminding those among the Christians who were wealthy
that God holds them to a higher standard of stewardship. Frankly, there are
not very many rich Christians. I think that is because God cannot trust most of
us with money. When we get a few extra dollars, we get all stupid and start
making bad choices.
But whether we have a lot or a
little, it really all belongs to Him, not to us. We need to be good
stewards of whatever He entrusts to us. But beyond that, Christian employers
have a special obligation to be fair, and just, and honest in their dealings,
both with their workers and their customers. A Christian boss who cheats on his
taxes, rips off his workers, and lies to the government is an embarrassment to
Christ and His Church and will one day have to give an account before Almighty
God. And woe to him on that day!
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