Verse: James 5:1-6
5 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.
Devotion
In the final chapter of his book, James gives one more strong warning – a warning against living a life focused on our own comfort, luxury, and self-indulgence. Living this way, only thinking about our own needs and for our own gain, as James points out, will lead to misery and destruction. This way of life does not fulfill us – instead, it eats us up and leaves us feeling terrible. It ends up cheating others out what is due to them. Living only for what we want for ourselves actually leads to injustice toward others. The same type of injustice that sent Jesus to the cross to die for our sins when He was innocent.
Unfortunately, it is easy to live a life like this today, focused only on ourselves. Whether we have much or we have little, the message from the world that we live in tells us that we should get things for our own happiness. It tells us that we “deserve” things and that we should hold onto them instead of sharing with others.
Thankfully, in contrast to that message from the world, Jesus told us that, instead of worrying about earthly wealth and ourselves, we should “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:20-21).
As we’ve learned through this devotional series, earlier in his book, James taught us of this same principle that he learned from Jesus. First, come to the Lord and choose to set our hearts on Jesus above all things. Then, live out our relationship with Jesus by caring for others in practical ways.
While these verses are challenging, there are some very tangible opportunities available to all of us. When the Lord blesses you with money, maybe even the next time you receive your paycheck, you could ask the Lord to whom you can be generous and give. Is it to Him and the work of the church? Do you have a friend in need? Is there someone on the street who could use a blessing? Or, an organization that is making a difference in the lives of others?
Even if we don’t own a business or a field, where workers are mowing and harvesting, we still have other people who do work for us, whether we realize it or not. The next time you work with someone at your job, go through the drive through, or buy something from the store with help from someone working there, you have an opportunity. Let’s all prayerfully ask the Lord – how can we bless them, whether it be financially or spiritually?
Prayer
Father, please forgive us when our hearts go astray. Help us to have hearts that love you more than our money and more than the things that we want. Help us to give to others and to be willing to lay down our life for others the way that Jesus did. Amen.
Author: Chris Fraser
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