James 5:1-6 - Seek the Things Above

James 5:1-6

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

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.

The proud and self-seeking will eventually discover that the riches they accumulated in their lifetime are no lasting match with the things above (Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:1) they left untouched.  Those who seek material riches only find misery in the end and oftentimes along the way also as they scrape and claw away at others to gain what they can only lose instead of that which cannot be lost in Christ.  What wealth these gather are often corrupted and full of so many holes that they look like moth-eaten clothes stored away in a closet unused and fading away.  Their silver and gold are even corroded to the point of being useless and no longer shining and glittering as they imagine gold should be.  Such earthly treasure can never be kept long but that from the things of God can be held onto forever.  That heavenly treasure is what we should be storing up for our Lord and our reward (Matthew 16:27, 1 Corinthians 3:8, 9:24-25) and not for selfish temporal gain that is here today and gone tomorrow and forever.  We are told therefore to not defraud others but pay fair wages as we treat others fairly and with compassion in grace as we receive from our Lord such daily bread and watchcare.  If we choose to ignore others in real need and pursue only our own pleasure and luxury of possessions and power, we will find disappointment and certain accountability in the consequences of lost honor which we could have been crowned with if we had loved and lived for our Lord and our neighbors.  May we not condemn or deprive others of all God gives us to meet their needs (Titus 3:14) and honor Christ who gave up all to suffer and die in our place.  Then we will find the crowns of our reward of faithfulness in true riches that do not fade away (1 Peter 1:4) forever as we seek the things above where Christ is (Colossians 3:1) and count the cost.  Amen.