Based on James 5:1-6 (New King James Version)
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.”
Are riches evil? Within themselves, not really. It all depends on how you obtain them and what priority you give them. For starters, do riches only consist of material wealth? Not necessarily, but in the today’s passage, it refers primarily to material wealth. And more exactly, today’s passage refers to the rich and what will happen to them because of the way they treat their neighbor, or by being concerned only about themselves (selfishness), or by trusting in riches, or by taking advantage and/or running over those that are not able to defend themselves, the more vulnerable, or by living for pleasure and luxury. All of these illicit actions according to the Word of God are not only abominable before the Almighty, but moreover, they are worthy of punishment at present at some given moment, and if there is no genuine repentance before death, worthy of eternal punishment where there are no second chances. When men die, God’s mercy has ended because the opportunities that the Lord gives for repentance are over. That is why the Word tries to bring consciousness to the reader because all sin always has consequences, both here in the present, but far worse, in eternity. Nothing remains unchanged, because there are always consequences, even when receiving God’s forgiveness. God’s grace does not necessarily take away possible natural consequences.
What does the Word teach regarding riches? One of the first things we can see in the Word is that as followers of Christ, it is convenient for us to be content with what is necessary. What is necessary? There are many people that have different opinions regarding what is necessary. There are people that think that it is necessary to have a big house. There are other people that believe that it is necessary to have a bank account with a lot of money. There are others that believe that luxury is a divine right. Opinions vary. How can necessity be identified? By what God says that is necessary. This is what the Word says: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10. So then, through this passage, we can deduce that if we desire more than just food and clothing, that we are surpassing the limits of what is necessary.
Let us see this through the Lord, because God’s goal is to make us like Him through the Holy Spirit, and not like another human being no matter how special and chosen they may have been. Our sight should always be set on the Lord and on no one else. Did the Lord have a palace, or a mansion, or even a house? No. He said that the Son of Man did not have anywhere to lay His head. Did He have much clothing, or different outfits for each day of the week? No. The Word does not say that He had such things. Did the Lord have horses and chariots? No, because even when He made His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, He rode on a borrowed colt of a donkey. How did the Lord eat? Did He have a storage place with food, or fields with crops? The Word does not demonstrate any of that. Now then, if we compare ourselves to what the Lord had, we could very easily discern that we are rich (carnally speaking) as compared to the Lord, because we all live in some sort of building, whether it is purchased or rented. We have a refrigerator/freezer and some sort of pantry with food in our home. We have clothing for many days and for different occasions, and so on. So then, observe well what you do because this Scripture may apply to you personally if you take advantage of others, or if you are selfish, or if you are trusting in riches, or if you have dedicated yourself to the pleasure and luxury of this world.
How should we live then? This is what the Word teaches us: “Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Proverbs 23:4-5. “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” John 6:27. “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Now then, does that mean that we should give our goods to those that do not work and/or are irresponsible? Under no circumstances. The Bible simply does not support irresponsibility, and far less, laziness, as it is written: “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.” 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12.
What can we understand through all of this? That each one of us will finally give an account of how we attain things, of what we do with what we have, and of how we treat our neighbor because God is watching, and because He will judge His people sooner or later. So, are you earning your sustenance and administering it in a way that pleases God? Lord bless! John