Today's Reading:O.T. - Job 1 - 3
N.T. - James 5
Focus Verses: James 5:3-6
3Your 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. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
Insight:
Hoarding and self-indulgence are wrong. Our possessions and the blessings God gives to us should be used to honor God. We cannot honor God if we consume resources and money at the expense of workers who do not receive a fair wage. We are self-condemned if we turn a deaf ear toward the needs and cries of developing countries and economies. God hears their cries and we will face his judgment if we consume without regard to the ways our consumption is impacting the innocent and vulnerable lives of others.
Response and Action:
As a Christian in the USA, I need to recognize the ethical responsibility that accompanies the wealth and blessing I enjoy. I need to be a careful consumer -- giving thought to what I purchase, how much I purchase, why I purchase, and what impact these purchases have on others. I should be willing to pay more for goods and services if it results in better circumstances for needy people who produce them. I should avoid investments and purchases that profit from exploiting people in need or adversely affect their economies or living situations. I should make consumer choices that are good for the environment and developing economies. I must be generous and give to causes and efforts that are lifting people and countries out of poverty.
O God, I thank you for the abundant provision and blessings you have poured out on me. Help me to be a good and faithful steward of all you have given. Give me a caring heart, a discerning mind, and a watchful eye that I might avoid selfish consumption and hoarding habits. Help me to be careful in purchases, wise in investments, and generous in contributions. Make me quick see ways to use what you have given me to serve others. Make me slow to desire or buy the things I really don't need. Give me a compassionate and generous heart for those who are in need. Amen.
Proverbs: 11:25
"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."
Resources:
Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions
by Craig L. Blomberg
