James 5:1-8
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 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. 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.
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Living to gain riches alone, above God and man, only brings trouble and hardship. Ill-gotten gain gives things that are corruptible, that do not last long here and turn to dust when passing into eternity. Precious metals tarnish and leave only a legacy of rot. By living to fill our storehouses and build bigger storage buildings (Luke 12:18, 21) and not being rich toward God (Proverbs 3:9-10), we will have to face our Lord when He opens our books and see how we have walked over and misused others to gain what we can only lose instead of the incorruptible things we cannot ever lose in Christ (1 Peter 1:3-4). The love for money will expose those who pursue it above others and the kingdom of God. Seeking a life of luxury and pleasure at others’ expense and apart from putting God first ends in ruin. What are we to do then? Be patient as we see those seeking to gain the world over the backs of others run their course in this life. Wait for the justice of God’s final judgement through the seasons of life as He prospers or takes away. In our patience we have our lives (Luke 21:19). Therefore we establish our hearts by trust and hope in our Lord until He comes (1 Thessalonians 3:13, 1 Peter 5:10), keeping our hearts in Christ and His mighty hands (1 Peter 5:6-7).
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