1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
~James 5:1-4
A few thoughts about this quote, which I noticed this morning during a Bible study on patience (because the next section talks about having patience in suffering):
- Do people who strongly believe the Bible should be taken “literally” or “at face value” actually take passages like this literally?
- Who are these rich people? All rich people, or only those who have become rich by oppressing others? By global standards I’m rich—how did I get that way?
- Our economy is very different today than it was when these words were written. Many of us don’t make a living by hiring people to work our fields. But, someone had to work the fields that produced the food we eat, and someone had to make the clothes we wear. Do you know if the people who harvested your tomatoes or sewed the shirt you are wearing got paid for it? Do we consumers have any responsibility to know or care if they did?
Sixpence None the Richer has a lyric: "My thoughts were like willow branches caught in autumn winds." That is a perfect description of my brain. This blog is where I get those thoughts out of my head and into the world.
