James 5:1-6: (KJV) “5 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”
More than any man who ever existed, Jesus understood his part in God’s plan for mankind. After earning a right to life by perfectly keeping God’s laws in spirit and in deed, Jesus allowed himself to be killed as the result of a series of events put into motion by the religious leadership then in power (Matthew 16:21, John 11:53). Jesus also taught his followers that they, like him, would be subject to persecutions from the world, originating from, or implemented by, those in power (Matthew 10:17-24).
Jesus taught his followers that obtaining salvation requires a devotion to God above all else in life, and that one should further love one’s neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:36-40). Pursuing wealth, worldly possessions and power takes a great deal of time and resources out of one’s relatively short life. Jesus taught that those who seek to please God need to prioritize serving God over the pursuit of worldly riches, and that it is impossible to do both (Matthew 6:19-21, 24). The love of riches can keep even an otherwise good heart from truly prioritizing God, as exemplified by the encounter with Jesus and the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-25). Worldly wealth, riches and power may make one’s life more comfortable in the short term, but long term will prove worthless for obtaining salvation. Even worse, the accumulation of wealth often involves a degree of selfishness, as amassing a great storehouse of personal wealth can all too often come at the expense of others. Both history and current events are littered with examples of people who became rich or powerful through selfish hearts that were out of harmony with Jesus’ teachings.
In James chapters 1-4, James the author offers a string of admonitions and advice to those who, like himself, were seeking to serve God by following Jesus’ teachings. James considered these fellow followers his “brethren” (James 1:2).
Beginning in chapter 5, however, James seems to shift his focus from addressing his brethren to addressing the rich. This can seem disconcerting at first, because James’ writings up to this point were aimed at his brethren. Further, it would be unlikely that those whose hearts are out of harmony with God would be reading his words. Even though James 5:1 is addressed to “ye rich men,” the words still carry a message for the followers of Jesus.
Like Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 6:24, James 5:1-5 emphasize the point that worldly wealth will be worthless in gaining salvation. Those who have lived selfishly and out of harmony with God will, like all mankind, ultimately be responsible for their actions. Like the admonitions of the previous chapters, James’ words in these verses are a firm reminder about the importance of prioritizing God first. James 5:6 ends James’ words to “ye rich men” with the sobering reminder that “the rich” were responsible for Jesus’ death (“ye have condemned and killed the just [Jesus]”) even though Jesus did not resist his unjust execution (“and he doth not resist you”).
Additionally, even in James’ day, Christians who were truly attempting to follow Jesus’ teachings were, like Jesus, enduring persecution in many ways, including death. The words in James 5:6, like the rest of the verses in the chapter, may also be applied to those who had, like their master, suffered under the hands of the rich and powerful of the world.
James once again begins to directly reference his brethren in James 5:7-8, encouraging them to continue to bear their trials with patience. The time will come when God’s kingdom will be fully established, putting an end to all hardship and injustices. These words were no doubt a great comfort to God’s followers in James’ day, and are a source of comfort to us, today, as God’s kingdom draws closer than ever before.
