Tarnished Gold

" Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance." -[ James 5: 1-6].


Where there is injustice, there are the cries of the poor.

Today in many parts of the globe, slavery still flourishes. Or what amounts to slavery- because after the harvest worker pays for lodging and food at exorbitant rates, the worker has little to live on, or even goes into debt to the landowner. We in the developed world believe that slavery is abolished, but many in the world continue to live under these conditions.

This is the meaning of the verse: "Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud.  . . You have murdered the righteous one." The practice of putting workers into debt so that they starve or are thrown into debtor's prison is deemed here to amount to murder.

A Christian might say, 'What does this have to do with me, I don't imprison or enslave others?'

OR, a Christian may say, 'I don't need all these clothes or my old laptop. I will give these to those who have so much less.'

OR, a Christian may say, 'I will buy my goods from those who don't pay its workers slave wages.'

Or, a Christian may say, ' I will not accumulate or hoard so much wealth. I will give the money I used to waste on extravagant shopping, to charity.'

But this verse is also about a whole lot more than being a charitable Christian, who is a good steward.

It is about Divine Justice.

This Scripture in James takes me back to Job 21: 7- "Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?'

But, it also takes me to Psalm 37: "Never envy the wicked! Soon they fade away like the grass and disappear. Trust in the Lord instead. Be kind and good to others; then you will live safely here in the land."

I knew from a very young age that I had to counter Evil with Good. I had to wage Spiritual Warfare, by utilizing Love and kindness. I also had to bide my time until I could leave my ugly situation in life, and become independent.

It is all too easy to despair these days. The poor are mocked and shunned. The rich seem to be callous and hateful. We idolize all that is gilded and egotistical and shiny.

Rich politicians are scheming, greedy, self-centered. Celebrities hoard wealth, even flaunt it. Look at our favorite magazines, social media sites, cable shows; they all worship materialism, fabulous wealth, designer-everything. We see homes that are 10,000 or 20,000 square feet for a family of 3 or 4; yet our inner city schools are crumbling and rat-infested.

Psalm 37 says, "Stop your anger! Turn off your wrath. Don't fret and worry - it only leads to harm."

Yes, Christians are clearly called to work to stand up for the marginalized. But, we also know that those who have "lived on earth in luxury and pleasure" at the expense of others, have already received their reward in this life. And nothing in this life shall last. Clothes are worn down and discarded, homes may become ruins, gold and silver tarnish. In the end, the greedy will suffer for their avarice and narcissism, in the next Life.

I do not know how I could live in this world without the knowledge that God always has the last word! For every powerful person who "seems to be getting away with murder", God knows what this person is committing and He is remembering. As for me, I keep doing well by doing Good.

"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him to help you do it, and He will. Your innocence will be clear to everyone. He will vindicate you with the blazing light of justice shining down as from the noonday sun." -[Psalm 37].