You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure

James 5 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ⁵ You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. ⁸ You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹ Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. ¹⁰ As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

We need to take care lest we too quickly believe that the rebuke at the beginning of the text is only against the very wealthy. There are many today, in the U. S. who have much more than they need. Our closets, our attics, our basements are filled with the extra things we don’t use but feel we need to hold onto. I think of the parable Jesus told in Luke 12:13-21 –

“The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  

As you drive around and see the many storage facilities, recognize that it is not the 1%, the extremely wealthy who fill these barns with their excess, but many average people. In verse 5 of the text it says:  ^“You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure”  Again the luxuries that even those with modest means feel they are entitled to in our society are well beyond the comforts of kings and rulers in James day. As for wanton pleasure, we need only to look closely at the things we spend our money on for entertainment, movies, concerts, sports, cable TV, video games, the list goes on and on. Billions of dollars are spent annually in this country on pleasure and entertainment and then we have political debates over how the government should do more for the poor and needy. Before we are critical of anyone else, each of us needs to look carefully at our own lives. We are to: first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5)

The text says:  “You have heard… and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” Experiencing the Lord’s compassion and mercy has nothing to do with our material wealth. In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul says:   I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

There is much debate right now over how we should respond to many people throughout the world and there are valid spiritual and political arguments on both sides. One thing I would remind all those who are critical of the hesitance of some in the church to receive and care for the needy is this: there is indeed a mandate for believers to help and provide for those in need; and so we should. But scripture also says:  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26) If we are to take seriously our call and commandments to care for the needy, we must also take seriously our commission to: make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20) As believers we fail those in need if we meet their physical needs and fail to meet their spiritual needs, their need to know Jesus Christ, who says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)  

James says: “above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.” We should hold fast to our convictions, not allowing outside pressures, the government, society or the fear of anything but God to changes our yes from yes or our no from no.

Lord God; There are many among us who are suffering, so we must pray. There are many who are cheerful, we must sing praises. There surly are many among us who are sick, we must pray over them, anointing them with oil, representing the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord;  and we trust that the prayers offered in faith will restore the ones who are sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and if they have committed sins, they will be forgiven them. Heavenly Father we confess our sins. We confess that we have become influenced by the world, by it’s riches and it’s pleasures and by it’s philosophies. We have allowed ourselves to stray from Your call and commission. Your commission to love our neighbor as ourselves, but in that love to recognize their greatest need is to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. May that be our effective and righteous  prayer. May it accomplish much, as You pour and rain Your grace and mercy on the earth producing the fruit of Your harvest.  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Amen.