Warning to Rich Oppressors

James here gives a very harsh and disturbing warning to rich people.

James 5:1-6

He echoes Jesus’ teaching about how the rich store up wealth on Earth but the saint store up wealth up in heaven. He repeats the idea that wealth and things on Earth are temporary.

Matthew 6:19-21

He also addresses a contemporary issue of “Unfair Payment” for the workers. On the world we live in now, it is considered a great business move to pay workers little but make them work more. And clearly God opposes that.

Here’s the idea of the rich people James painted here:

• They store up temporary wealth but don’t care about the afterlife
• They oppress their workers
• They lived in luxury and lived for pleasures
• They’ve condemned and murdered innocent ones

And James said that the very things they stored up rose up against them and burnt them.

So as to say “The very wealth you bought and stored was used as timber in hell to burn you.“

Patience in Suffering

Here the Lord’s coming is seen as the end of suffering and it doesn’t always me the end times. And so James is saying, please be patient until God saves you of your misery.

James 5:7

And he continues to say that God is good and he will not fail you and will come to save you.

James 5:11

This verse relates to the following:

Deuteronomy 11:14-15

Everyone suffers, but to suffer patiently is what distinguishes Christians.

A Thought About Swearing

My thought here is that James wants to show us that our words shouldn’t be backed by other words. Let each word mean it’s own meaning. Doing this will force you to base the authenticity of the words by the person uttering them. Which will in turn force the person to change for the better so that because that person is an honest person, his testimonies are too.

James 5:12

A Prayer of Faith

James’ roadmaps:

• If in trouble or hardship → Pray
• If feeling happy → Praise
• If sick → Call Church Fathers → Anoint with Oil in the name of Jesus → Pray

I’m starting to think that Praise is a form of Prayer.

James 5:13-16

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

And I think confessing our sins to one another helps bring the heart of the others into harmony with ours. So they can carry the burden with us and so their prayers are heartfelt and moved deeply.

Correct Errors

IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD SUPPORT EACH OTHER AND HELP EACH OTHER STAY IN THE PATH OF FAITH.

James 5:19-20

This is also echoed in the following:

Galatians 6:1-2