May 23
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JAMES 5
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
– James 5:1-6
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JAMES 5 WARNING TO THE WEALTHY & SELF-INDULGENT
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
Do you gather wealth and possessions so you can spoil yourself?
Do you not know that these earthly things will rot and disintegrate?
The mansions and properties you have cannot be taken when you die
All the collections of things you own are meaningless after life.
You have constantly satisfied your desires and cravings
You didn’t concern yourself with other people who are needy
All you ever think about is gaining more things for your own pleasure
Your greed has become your obsession and you constantly want more.
You treat your servants unjustly and kept them from a decent life
You discriminate the poor and deal with them with much bias
The Lord warns all those who continually fatten themselves
God loathes all the those who are wicked and self-indulgent.
It is an abomination to the Lord to glorify one’s own self
What a shameful thing it is to even think you can possess
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Man is a creature and God is a creator, you own nothing
Therefore, be warned, all you who love money and riches.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think James warns the rich in the following verses?
• What are the dangers of being wealthy according to these verses?