James 5:1-3
Text
KJV Below (Link to NIV)
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.
Comment
In case you’re wondering, in all likelihood you are one of the rich people to whom this is addressed. I am too. At least when we think about the global church. However, all is not lost. The issue is not money per se (though that does make things more difficult), but rather the way in which we go about accruing wealth. There is a call not to focus on accruing things here (treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy as Jesus said), but to focus on treasures in heaven. We need to be single minded and focused on God and his kingdom, not on temporary wealth here.
Question
To whom do you compare yourself? There is always someone more wealthy, but there are lots more without near the wealth you have. What do you think James means when he says that the decay and rust of personal possessions will be a witness against us?
