A Strong Condemnation of the Preeminent
by Ross Ward, Jr.
“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.6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you” (James 5:1-6 ESV).
James addresses a perplexing group of people here. Were these Christians? Were they Greeks? Were they practicing Jews? Who were they? “...To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (James 1:1 ESV).
First, James is writing to them. Could a church have Christians with such attitudes and character flaws? Consider one of the earlier statements James made in this letter:
“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?” (James 2:1-7 ESV).
At a minimum, the “Rich” have included themselves in the assembly of Christians.
Some Thoughts:
Christians Are Not Perfect.
This entire letter is written to Christians who were in turmoil. Yes, Christians are not perfect—far from perfect, even ugly. Can I say that? What does this mean? If Christians are not perfect, then churches are not perfect. People are not perfect. In my life, I have seen a thread of elitism centered around perfection, or at least, my problems are not as bad as yours. That is a problem!
Prejudice Against the Perceived Lesser.
“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (James 2:5 ESV).
This is precisely where Matthew’s gospel starts. God blesses the... (Matthew 5:3-12). Why do we judge others as inferior? James wrote this epistle to the Christians who perceived themselves better than the poor.
Strong Condemnation of the Preeminent
Back to the reading of James 5. He wrote some tough statements of judgment against these Rich Preeminent people (Christians or Pharisees). This passage sounds a lot like the woes of Matthew 23. James has already established God’s judgment for those who would behave such:
“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy...” (James 2:13 ESV).
This is a hard passage. It is addressing an ugly truth about people, about the Jew, maybe even about some Christians. We should develop humility within ourselves. We should be compassionate toward others. We should be merciful towards others. We should never look down on or mistreat anyone.
