James 5:5 – 6 “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.”
There used to be a television program in America entitled “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Each week, the program would focus on different movie stars, millionaires or billionaires, and others with opulent lifestyles. For most of the people watching, these programs seemed to be merely fairy tales; but in fact, there were – and are – people who live that way. For most of us, reading these verses from James might make us feel a bit smug. After all, WE aren’t living in luxury and self – indulgence! We haven’t been victimizing people! We haven’t been persecuting the righteous; in fact, many of us feel that we are the righteous who are being persecuted. No! We don’t see ourselves described by these verses at all!
But wait a minute. When we buy clothing as cheaply as possible, do we care that it might have been produced by sweat shop workers earning only token amounts for long arduous hours under terrible working conditions? Does it bother us that we feel we deserve to take luxurious vacations while there are those living in our communities who can scarcely keep going financially? Do we really need to live in big new houses in gated communities? And who gave us the right to trade cars for ever more expensive models, simply because we have the means? What are we doing about single parents, particularly women, in our communities who are struggling to raise their children on minimum wage jobs while living in near – slum conditions? What are we doing to stop human trafficking? What are we doing to help school children from poor families, particularly those whose parents are in prison, who might need tutoring or a financial boost?
The question each of us must face is this: WHY has God given us the resources that we have available? Have we not been given these resources so that we can help others?
One of the last stories Jesus told his disciples before he was crucified is this one from Matthew 25: 31 – 46
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Prayer: Father God, forgive us! We confess that we have taken resources you have given us to help others and have wasted them on ourselves! We have not reached out to those in our communities. We have not asked you why you have given us money or possessions. We have treated all of these things as if you were of no consequence and your Will did not matter. Lord, have mercy on us for our hardness of heart and for our selfishness! Help us to change completely and to become channels of your love, your grace, and your provision to those around us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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