Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.
Here James sounds like Amos or another of the Old Testament prophets railing against social injustice.
Some things never change - The rich get richer and the poor get poorer!
What troubles God – and should disturb students of Jesus everywhere - is how the rich get richer and why the poor get poorer!
James says very often people enrich themselves at the expense of the poor.
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
Isn’t it amazing that nothing escapes the watchful eye of the God of heaven? He sees the smallest details of our lives. He observes and judges!
He dislikes the inequity that exists in the world. A world where some live in opulent luxury while others starve to death!
A day of reckoning is coming. A day when the scales of justice will tip in favor of the oppressed!
A day of punishment is coming to the oppressor. They will receive the disapproval of God. On that day, their ill-gotten gains will do them no good.
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
Students of Jesus take note. God cares about fairness in all our dealings, especially when we occupy a position of power over others. God would have us become more like Jesus. Remember how He was a special friend to the poor.
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