James 5:1-6: a reflection

1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. 2Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days. 4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies. 5You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.

James speaks a stern word to the rich who have hoarded their wealth and gotten it by injustice, warning that their treasure will testify against them. He points in particular to a specific wrong: they had defrauded the laborers who worked their fields of their wages. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, James says; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord. The rich had withheld from the workers the pay they had earned, and had lived in luxury on what they gained by such fraud; and God had heard the cries of the defrauded workers. This exposes two related wrongs: the hoarding of wealth, and the defrauding of those who labor. And it declares that God hears the cries of those wronged in this way; the injustice does not escape his notice. To hoard wealth and to withhold from workers what they have earned are wrongs God sees and hears. The cries of the defrauded reach God's ears; he is not indifferent to injustice against those who labor.

Notice the specific wrong James names, and God's response to it: the defrauding of laborers, whose cries God hears. The rich James rebukes had not only hoarded wealth; they had gained it in part by withholding from their workers the wages they had earned, defrauding those who labored for them. And the cries of these defrauded workers, James says, had entered the ears of the Lord. God is not indifferent to such injustice; he hears the cries of those defrauded of their due, of workers cheated of their wages. This is a sobering word for any who gain wealth by withholding what is owed to those who labor, or who hoard while others are wronged. God sees the injustice; he hears the cries of the wronged; it does not escape his notice. To defraud those who work, to withhold their earned wages, to hoard wealth gained by such means, is a wrong that reaches the ears of God. He hears the cries of the defrauded and is not indifferent to injustice against workers. The wages withheld cry out to God; he hears them. Injustice against those who labor does not escape God.

That is worth taking to heart, for God hears the cries of those defrauded of their due, and injustice against those who labor does not escape him. We can, in the pursuit of wealth, withhold from others what they have earned, defraud those who work for us, or hoard while others are wronged; but James warns that the cries of defrauded workers reach the ears of God, who is not indifferent to such injustice. God hears the wronged; the injustice does not escape his notice. Do not gain or hoard wealth by withholding from workers what they have earned; God hears the cries of the defrauded, as James warns. Do not defraud those who labor of their due or hoard wealth gained by injustice, for God hears the cries of the wronged, as James warns that the wages kept back by fraud from the laborers cry out and have entered the ears of the Lord; for God is not indifferent to injustice against those who work, but hears the cries of the defrauded, so that to withhold from workers the wages they have earned, or to hoard wealth gained by such means, is a wrong that reaches his ears and does not escape his notice, and we do well to deal justly with those who labor rather than defraud them.

Lord, James speaks a stern word to the rich who have hoarded their wealth and gotten it by injustice, warning that their treasure will testify against them. He points in particular to a specific wrong: they had defrauded the laborers who worked their fields of their wages. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, James says; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord. The rich had withheld from the workers the pay they had earned, and had lived in luxury on what they gained by such fraud; and you had heard the cries of the defrauded workers. Show me the specific wrong James names, and your response to it: the defrauding of laborers, whose cries you hear. The rich James rebukes had gained their wealth in part by withholding from their workers the wages they had earned. And the cries of these defrauded workers had entered your ears. You are not indifferent to such injustice; you hear the cries of those defrauded of their due. This is a sobering word for any who gain wealth by withholding what is owed to those who labor, or who hoard while others are wronged. You see the injustice; you hear the cries of the wronged. Take that to my heart, for you hear the cries of those defrauded of their due, and injustice against those who labor does not escape you. I can, in the pursuit of wealth, withhold from others what they have earned, defraud those who work for me, or hoard while others are wronged; but James warns that the cries of defrauded workers reach your ears. Keep me from gaining or hoarding wealth by withholding from workers what they have earned; you hear the cries of the defrauded, Lord, as James warns that the wages kept back by fraud cry out and have entered your ears. Help me deal justly with those who labor rather than defraud them.