Weep and wail

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.” (James 5:1)

 

Those who regard sermons negative are perhaps belonging to which of the following two kinds’ people. They think that the preacher himself talks about what he is unable to keep, or that the preacher intentionally expresses his feelings toward someone. The slang they say in such that case are “Don’t preach,” and “You’re preaching again.” This message of the Bible verse is a warning to the rich. It’s a world where almost people want to be rich, contrary the verse sounds like pouring cold water on them. If a war breaks out, people say to gather gold first for emergent situation, but this verse rebuked us about building wealth at the times of the end world. Then what would be the true meaning this signifies.

 

Of course, the preacher cannot abide by everything he says for oneself. Nevertheless, to preach is a mission given to own self, so they should convey the teaching of God to all audiences including oneself. We can understand about an inevitable situation of duty to follow God’s orders, through seeing the cases the same regulations had applied to everyone not just the apostles and the prophets, but especially even the weak people like Jonah. Therefore, everyone should listen carefully to preaching, assenting to the fact that preaching is a message to be delivered commonly to all audiences, including the preacher oneself. And, if there would be a preacher who inserts one’s personal feelings into the sermon, the person will be judged by God the Lord, so there is no need for others to pay a worry for such that matter.

The reason why the doing defense for preacher, that seems to have nothing to do with the contents of text, is that have feels of somewhat awkward and uncomfortable trying to convey a warning for the rich. As an essential element of life, we need money too, and sometimes we also would like to have a big riches suddenly. In spite of that, if such person preaches to others, “You have hoarded wealth in the times of the end world,” wouldn’t it sound hypocritical or absurd to them? Even so, we clearly need to perceive a fact that this is a message of life given from God for me and all of you.

The rich will surely experience sufferings someday. Then they might say these, “What are you talking about? Everything will get better with money.” They say like that because they see and think everything only in fleshly eyes without true faith in Christ. Their big wealth they rely on will be disappeared out of them some day. For example, sugar is sweet on the tongue just now, but if you excessively eat sugar a lot the sugar may cause diabetes to melt your body’s bones and flesh. The worldly wealth is like the sugar that melts the body. If you buy clothes and store them in your closet continually because you have a lot of money, the clothes would be moth-eaten because without being worn, and will have to be thrown out later. Paper money will be rot when it’s old, and such as treasures made of gold and silver gradually will be broken and get useless. Unless the holy spirit stays in man, everything that belongs to matter along with human body, will collapse in vain at last. Therefore now, you must be reborn in God’s life through Christ.

The reason why rich man is warned is that they do not give a fair wage to a worker. We cannot say him that it is wrong without clear other reason because of a fact someone collected a lot of wealth. Money earned correctly by working hard with a strength and wisdom given from God is a sound fruit of sweat. But if you had embezzled money which had to be given to others, they will pray own resentment and pain to God. Therefore, so-called evil entrepreneurs will certainly receive the punishment of the judgment by the Lord. They can live extravagant and free self-indulgent for a while in life on the world. However, that is nothing more than to make grow fat for the slaughter of the judgment day than to be joy and happiness. The luxury and dissolute life of a person without Christ’s spirit are only the acts preparing oneself perfectly to make be slaughtered. That means, a pig rolls around and to grunt eating in a cage is like getting ready to be slaughtered for person some day. Oh what a sadly ironic thing it is.

Certain bad people with much money buy people with money and handle them with force and commit all kinds of evils in any manner one please. On account of that reason, there is also common use a slang for “To those with money have no punishment,” and “Poor person is convicted of guilty.” Thus it is said that everything can be made possible in this society by money, whether it is illegal or not illegal. Under such situation like that, unfortunately foolish people don’t hesitate even to kill to get money as well as do several kinds of evil doings.

 

The most important thing is that Christians should not submit the injustice of the world. Money is an essential element of life as a price for effort, so we have to work hard and earn according to God’s labor command. Surely, the enterprises must be run by fairness and justice. The same situation goes for others if oneself has to receive fair wages. Regardless of any time Christ’s Judgment Day comes to individuals or mankind, let’s try to live to be right so that we don’t get punished ‘like pigs to be slaughtered’ no matter.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Oct 31st 2021)