James 5.1-6

Test Case #3: Wisdom for Treating Workers with Respect (James 5.1-6)

1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon 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 workmen 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 innocent men, who were not opposing you.

This passage is pretty much straightforward. James is trying to accomplish two things. First, he wants to show that worldly wealth will not last. Second, he wants to call out the rich for their social injustice towards the poor. Plato once said, “Every city has a civil war, that between the rich and the poor.” James’ goal is that the churches he is writing to will allow the wisdom of God to guide how they treat their wealth and people of different economic classes. We will look at this one step at a time. 

The first thing James is trying to accomplish is to show that worldly wealth will not last. He says this: 

1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon 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.

Right off the bat, James is addressing the rich of the church. He says that misery is coming upon them because they have put their faith and trust in their money instead of in God. That is why James attacks the three main economic currencies of the day. They are as follows: 1. Corn and Grain ; 2. Clothes; and 3. Gold and Silver. 

The word he uses for “rotted” refers to the decay of corn and grain. Because the majority of the people in the first century lived day to day, their riches and wealth were simply based off  of their food from their crops. And those that have the most crops have the most power. James says that this reliance on corn and grain has rotted, decayed. It is fleeting. 

Then he describes clothes being eaten by moths. All throughout the Old Testament, you see clothes being used as wealth. Joseph gave clothes to his brothers (Gen. 45.22), Achan stole Babylonian clothes because they were considered riches (Joshua 7.21), Samson promised clothes to anyone who could solve his riddle (Judges 14.12), and Namaan brought clothes as a gift  to the prophet of Israel (2 Kings 5.5, 22). Yet James says that moths are eating the clothes. Those are two down, one to go. And James saves the climax of the world’s wealth for last. 

Gold and Silver. James says that the Gold and Silver are corroded, or rusted all the way through. The problem with this is that Gold and SIlver do not rust. But that is James point. He is saying, “the best you got will still be destroyed and decay some day.” Worldly wealth is just something we cannot rely on. With a stock market crashing, or a crooked banker or two, all of our wealth, what we rely on, can just disappear. Thinking heavenly means relying on God, not money. Because of this, there is no need to hoard money. We must use it honestly and with much wisdom. And that is what James does next, he calls out the rich on their injustice to the poor. Check out what he says:

4 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. 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 innocent men, who were not opposing you.

The majority of people in the first century lived day to day. They were paid everyday just enough to feed their family for that day. There was never enough for saving money. And if they did not work, or get paid, they and their family did not eat. This is what James is getting upset with the rich about. He is showing them that their injustice to the poor is causing them to not even be able to feed their family. And the cries of these people have reached the ears of God. That does not sound good for the rich. Furthermore, look what the rich were hoarding their money for. 

Luxury 

and

Self-indulgence. 

They wanted to be comfortable and to spend money on themselves. They wanted to build up their own kingdoms, not God’s. This is thinking worldly, not thinking heavenly. And remember where thinking worldly and thinking heavenly gets you:

Wisdom from above (thinking heavenly)--> truth---> good deeds --> Life

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Desires from Below---> leads to temptation----> leads to Sin-----> leads to Death. 

James actually says that when the rich live like this, they are fattening themselves up like calves being fattened up for the slaughter. Except that for the rich, they are fattening themselves up for God’s day of judgment. 

What about us? We are rich. We live in the richest country that has ever existed. Because of this, we will be judged more harshly for how we use our money. Are we using it for comfort or self-indulgence or for the advancement of God’s kingdom. One leads to death, the other to life. It’s your choice.