James 5:1-6 (Commentary)

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you."

The topic of wealth in Scripture is frequently referenced in context of money and materialism through man's selfishness, covetousness, jealousy and envy. It is emphasized as a battle between good and evil, where our desire for comfort is magnified by how willing we are to give freely of our bountiful resources. It is convicting in whether we realize that what we have is not the work of our own hands, talents, abilities or successes, but only by the grace of God. It is elaborated upon by Jesus as an eternal discernment of what we constitute as our treasure. And it is revealing of our heart's posture as to whether we believe God at His Word by trusting in His provision over selfish gain. Make no mistake, this is a message directed not merely to the wealthy landowners of James' day who sought selfish gain no matter the cost and detriment to others along the way. This message is intended for us as well, because we have become lackadaisical and forgetful of how Scripture calls us to live as a faith community.

It is imperative we comprehend why James spent six verses unpacking this issue. At that time, class separation was prevalent and severe. Segregation existed economically in monetary wealth, religiously between Jews and Gentiles, and politically among people of various nationalities and ethnicity. Therefore, when James spoke of the rich, there was little confusion as to whom he was addressing or why he relayed God's prophetic message of judgment to those who achieved monetary wealth through questionable means and practices. Due to the intensity of James' proclamation, it is safe to assume that how the rich achieved their wealth was evident to all and worthy of severe judgment by God. The greater issue James seeks to convey though is how monetary wealth twists our hearts into a funnel of selfish comfort rather than a fountain of opportunity to bless others. Money has the power to enslave a man who trusts in the pleasures of this world over the provision of God, because it tempts us to see money as compensation for what we have accomplished in and of ourselves. We lose sight that everything we have, even the air we breathe that allows us to live each day, is a gift from God that He has the power to give or take away.

The beauty of Scripture is that God gives us examples of sin and righteousness as it relates to our perspective on money. For example, "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil" (Job 1:1). Job had immense wealth in his day and was tested by Satan (with the Lord's consent) through means of catastrophically destroying all his earthly possessions and children. Such calamity would surely cause Job to curse God, Satan proposed, because man will self-protect before he trusts in the sovereignty of God when all he has is taken from him. But Scripture cites a different response: "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.' In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong" (Job 1:20-22). What we witness by Job's example is that our wealth is NOT a result of ourselves, but is graciously given by God and taken away if He so chooses. Yet the truth remains that we struggle mightily with understanding how we could possibly praise and worship God when all we materialistically have is stripped away, leaving us with nothing. Logically-speaking, it does not add up. How can we be better off and God be glorified when devastation comes and takes all we have?

Jesus provides clarity in the face of such questions and uncertainty in these matters. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21). If we trust in earthly treasures, we lose sight of the priceless value of spiritual contentment found only in the grace and mercy of God. Such peace is unparalleled, for it is not defined by monetary value. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:44-46). Therefore, let us recognize that if we measure wealth according to this world, we will not comprehend the invaluable wisdom of Scripture and sovereignty of God that transcends all understanding, especially when it does not logically make sense to us. Rather, let us learn from Job's example and abandon our worldly perspective of wealth with true, righteous behavior that is refined by the fiery trials of life and revealed by our trust in God's sovereignty and provision.

Conversely, Scripture provides powerful examples where selfish gain and monetary wealth draws our hearts away from God through self-inflicted judgment. "But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God'" (Acts 5:1-4). This example comes in the midst of the church's beginning, where thousands were coming to faith in Jesus Christ and the apostles were teaching and creating a new community of faith where wealth was communally shared among all those who had need. Yet even in the midst of the church itself, selfishness can corrupt and undermine the power of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of those who profess faith in Jesus. Ananias and Sapphira sought to obey the apostles' teaching by giving of their resources. In truth, their gift had immense monetary value and superficially manipulated others to believe they were holy and righteous, yet God not only called out their selfishness even in the midst of their tithe, but cast immediate judgment on them based on the condition of their hearts. Their greed, coupled with a lack of trust in God's provision, caused them to self-protect; and in the end, cost them their lives.

According to Jesus, "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money" (Luke 16:13). The issue here is not money itself, but the condition of our hearts toward God. Money is simply a means of God's provision to meet our primary needs of food, water, shelter and clothing. It's primary purpose is not to pad our discretionary spending in order to perpetuate laziness in us (Luke 12:13-21), but an opportunity to share the bounty of God's blessing with others. Bottom-line: If our allegiance to God is universal in our lives, then our possessions are not of little concern to us, but NO concern to us. Anxiety is nothing more than a wedge Satan uses to separate our fellowship with God and drive our focus on self-sufficiency, but Jesus reminds us by saying, "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26). God always has our best interest in mind. Therefore, our focus must shift from monetary wealth to spiritual wealth that stands the test of time and does not fade away.

Possessing monetary wealth is not sinful in any way, unless inappropriate means were used to gain such wealth as James pointedly addresses. It is a discretionary decision of God's alone to deem one person economically wealthy versus another. What is universal though is the opportunity for spiritual wealth that is immeasurable and readily available to every man, woman and child who accepts God's free gift of salvation. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). God does not hold back his bounty of spiritual blessing and wisdom, but we must be clear we are not intermixing false prosperity doctrine in our hearts and churches which elevates monetary wealth as the spiritual thermometer of faithfulness and righteous living. Such theology is as anti-Biblical as any in the church today. Contrary to many false teachers, God's mission is not to make us healthy and wealthy. We are promised no such thing in the pages of Scripture. Rather, Scripture is rich with clarity and perspective regarding what the Father's will truly is (i.e. the Gospel of John), and that is eternal life for those of us who accept the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as payment for our sins. 

But that decision also comes with an acknowledgment of the cost associated with identity in Christ. "Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours" (John 15:20). Those who accept Christ as Lord and Savior can be sure that trial, adversity and persecution will come (which contradicts prosperity doctrine), because Jesus endured them for who He was and promised the same treatment for His followers. But in the end, love has the power to break strongholds as we personally let go of what the world deems as treasure; not being enslaved by monetary wealth but using it as a means to spread the Gospel of salvation throughout the world despite opposition. The key is surrender at the deepest heart level. And the quicker we sift our lives of the false doctrine of prosperity and realize that wealth is meaningless in the sight of God, we will free ourselves from spiritual bondage and begin serving God with fresh perspective and giving hearts. 

King Solomon wrote, "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 5:10), because riches apart from God only bring calamity and judgment. James emphasized that point with great passion, in order that we recognize our heart's allegiance to either God or money. We cannot continue to be enslaved by the pleasures of this world which drive our insatiable appetite for wealth. Rather, we must be wise and prioritize provisional protection for our families above all else, but the manner in which we earn our living and the drive for power, status and success cannot undermine that priority. "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8). Bottom-line, when we pass from this earth and stand before the judgment seat, will God sift our hearts and find open hands or clenched fists? Will our lives be identified by selfish gain or spiritual prosperity? Will we be judged as givers or takers? For how we live this side of heaven will identify what level of stronghold we have made in our hearts regarding monetary wealth. Therefore, "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'" (Hebrews 13:5).