Rich Oppressors

Announcements

Thank Joyce and all of the leaders for helping with the Party last night. That was a huge blessing.

No Youth Group on the 24th or the 31st. We will be back on January 7th.

Prayer

Pray for our holiday season. That we would see, feel, and understand the presence of Christ in our world.

Pray that God’s Word would change our hearts to love Him, and to love others.

Pray that we would grow in our love for God’s Church and for those who don’t yet know Christ. That God would make relationships between us bear fruit.

Review

Last week we talked about making plans without considering God in them.

What were some things that stood out to you (James 4:13-17)

Judgment on the Rich

James 5:1 ESV

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

Ok! That’s all. Have a good night everyone.

Did you know that statistically, based on the world’s entire economy, that roughly 20% of people control over 70% of the world’s money? Of the remaining 30 %, The average income fluctuates between $2-$10 per day? That’s maybe $360.00 per year for an income.

I traveled to Haiti two different times. The first time was after the earthquake in 2010. Estimates are between 100,000-160,000 people died in that earthquake. 250,000 homes were destroyed, and 30,000 commercial buildings. I went two years later, when there was a cholera breakout. 800,000 people were infected by it, and 9,000 people died. Because the people were so dehydrated and malnourished.

The point is this, these are poor people crying for the miseries that are coming upon them. Government greed, rich business owners, corruption with local gangs, and even voodoo practices made the rich even richer in Haiti with the poor becoming even poorer. The poor are abused, mistreated, and, if not intentionally murdered, then at least killed because of the lack of care because their government won’t fulfill their responsibilities.

James isn’t writing this passage to the church. Remember, he loves the church and begins his dialogues with the church with “my brothers.” This is more like when the prophet Amos pronounces judgment on the nations outside of Israel. James is telling the rich what will happen to them because of their oppression.

Hoarding, Defrauding, and Luxury

James 5:2–5 ESV

2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 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. 4 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. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

James says that the tables have turned. Just like all things fade, the oppressive rich will have their treasures fade.

Where the rich leaders in Haiti eat off of golden plates and crystal glasses, the people make “mud cookies” to eat because they believe that the vitamins in the soil will help their children grow. Meanwhile, they have no running water or sanitary system, so they just use the bathroom in the streets, where they make mud cookies.

One day, the people will rebel against the rich. This has happened over and over again in Haiti. It’s a country that was started as a port during the slave trade, where the slaves rebelled against their masters. They killed them, burnt their ships, and began their life in Haiti.

Mistreatment and Murder

James 5:6 ESV

6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

While the rich in James’s day weren’t actually killing the poor, by depriving them of proper wages to pay for their daily food, they were metaphorically murdering them. When Haiti’s government puts in fiber-optic cable, but takes away the drinking water, the people will die.

This is a passage to employers, to employees, to governments, to stakeholders. It can serve as a warning to all of us too. For those who defraud or mistreat people, God will hold them accountable. For those who are defrauded and mistreated, God is on your side and he cares about your mistreatment. But what does God say our responsibility is as believers in Christ?

Colossians 3:22–25 ESV

22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

Vengeance belongs to God. He knows the hearts of men and he will repay accordingly.

Don’t take vengeance into your own hands. Depend on God. He loves you and wants you to know His love. When we take that vengeance or revenge into our own hands, it’s to say that “I know better and I will have Justice now.” Trust that God will bring justice, but that his justice will satisfy.

Pray