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The Miseries of the Wicked Rich

James 5:1-6

There is controversy and difference of opinion among commentators as to whether this section is addressed to believers, as is the rest of the letter.

It is not so much an admonition as a denunciation: any erring wealthy believers are not being told to repent and mend their ways, but the doom of the wicked rich of this world is predicted. These verses are hardly ever preached on, because the denunciation is so strong, the words are so blunt and unsparing.

It is addressed to believers, making them understand that although in this world the rich may appear to have joy and happiness in their wealth, obtained through injustice and exploitation of others, great will be their punishment and suffering when their wealth is taken away from them.

Believers may be suffering hardships and injustice because of the oppression they are under, they may even be at the mercy of these wicked, rich men. These men are not to be envied, however: God will deal with the godless rich in eternity if not here, so the oppressed believers should be patient.

First the wicked rich are summoned to weep and howl because of the miseries which are to come upon them. One day God will bring them for reckoning and their punishment will be great. They will be filled with shame and remorse, realising the enormity of their injustice which they committed in order to accumulate their riches.

This foreboding message is for all time, but the rich Jews who were in Jerusalem when it was written became a good illustration of its fulfilment when, a few years later, the Romans invaded and completely destroyed the city in 70 AD., confiscating and destroying everything of any value. It was predicted by the Lord (Luke 21:20).

Four sins are specified:

1. Hoarding wealth: just being wealthy isn't a sin. Wealth can be inherited, acquired through merit, skill or other circumstances. But the Lord Jesus specifically taught against the hoarding of riches (Matthew 6:19-21). Three kinds of substances which have been hoarded are mentioned here:
   Riches, subject to corruption: typically, in those days, foodstuffs like grain, oil and other produce. They were hoarded until they got spoiled, instead of being supplied to the needy.
   Garments, stored until they were moth-eaten: they were obviously not in regular use, they were surplus to requirements and only greed could be the motive behind keeping them in store when they could provide for the need of other people.
   Gold and silver, subject to corrosion: they do not rust like other metals, although silver can suffer from oxidation. But their value, like shares in the stock market, is subject to falling which is a kind of corrosion. The money can be put to use relieving the needy, widows and orphans without the rich suffering any hardship themselves, as it is surplus to their requirements. Corrosion is the consequence of disuse and decay. They were provided with the means to do good and didn't do it, preferring to allow their resources to be completely spoilt and of use to no-one.

2. Ill gains: the means by which the wicked rich acquire their wealth is iniquitous: exploitation of the work force, depriving the labourers of their rightful pay, was probably the greatest offence by the rich in those days. Although no-one on earth may be prepared to defend their cause, their cries are heard by the Lord of Sabaoth (Hosts), and He will avenge them. In our more sophisticated world of today there are many other devious ways of becoming rich: cheating shareholders, evading tax, false advertising, etc., yet all of them cause others to bear the burden unjustly.

3. Luxury: leading a soft life, living wantonly in pleasure and luxury, enjoying the best of what there is, in showy affluence, extravagance and self-indulgence. They are fattening themselves like sheep or oxen, totally unconscious of the day of slaughter ahead of them.

4. Condemning and murdering the just: The rich control the courts of justice, and they have killed the righteous one. There is probably no direct reference to one individual, though it does picture well the death of Christ and also the coming death of James himself, who was called the Just. Stephen (Acts 7:52) directly accused the Sanhedrin with being betrayers and murderers of the righteous one. The sinful rich are able to bribe those responsible for meeting out judgement, and the just have no means of resisting.

Although it is most unlikely that the sinful rich depicted here are believers in the Lord Jesus, there are some lessons to be learnt for our benefit in our Christian life.

Few of us are wealthy in worldly riches. We are told that the love of money is the root of all evil, and the Lord Jesus told us not to store treasures on earth where they can disappear again but to lay up treasures in heaven for ourselves, where they are secure. Our heart is where our treasure is, so if we store up material things we are concerned about them and they take up our time and affection. If we are set on the rewards of heaven, our conduct will such as to please our God and Father.

We are stewards of what God has placed in our hands. We may not have sought the earth's riches, and they may have come our way in trust from God. But this passage is a warning against following the world and striving to accumulate wealth by unrighteous means, which is robbery in disguise. One day those who are guilty of such a thing will be filled with shame and remorse, when they come to realise the harm they have done to others.

As stewards of a fraction of the earth's goods and riches, we are responsible for their administration and investment for the furtherance of God's purposes on earth and the benefit of His people.

Hoarding is useless and sinful. It is like the servant of the parable who received a talent and buried it in the ground for fear of his master (Matthew 25:14-30). What we have should be invested for the well being of needy people, especially those in the household of faith (Galatians 6:10), and for the furtherance of the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, to which we are called. Hoarding also implies lack of faith in God's provision for us.

What we have been entrusted with should not be selfishly employed in luxurious living, extravagance and self-indulgence. Moderation should be the norm. We live in a world where thousands die daily of starvation and over half the world's population has never heard of the Lord Jesus Christ, even in our own neighbourhood. How can we justify squandering extravagantly the resources entrusted to us, small as they may be?

The lesson from the Scriptures is that we do not belong to this world and that we are here for a purpose - to fight a spiritual fight against Satan and the powers of evil, and to spread the Gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. We may not be called upon to do this personally, but we should employ the means at our disposal so that those who have this calling may not lack the resources to carry out their mission. Our compassion for the lost should take away any desire we might have for luxurious living as long as there is a single soul who has not heard the gospel left in the world.

 

R David Jones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

3 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.

4 Indeed the wages of the labourers 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.

5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.