James chapter 5 covers quite a few different topics: money, employment, suffering, forgiveness, patience, oaths, commitments. However, for those of us who live in the U.S., the first several verses (1-6) are the most important. The tension in America about wages is extremely high. Recently – in the last month or so – the U.S. women’s soccer team came against the men’s soccer team claiming unjust wages. They were proven bunk; the women actually made more than the men. The “equal” wage battle is extreme on nearly every point of society. The battle is generally broken into political lines. What I would like to do is take a step back and look at the principles of the matter.
The warning is against those who are rich and have horded up treasures for themselves. They are not paying the proper wages to those in their charge (vs. 4). They condemn and murder innocent men (vs. 6). Yet all their treasures are simply rotting away (vs. 2-3) and testify against them (3-4). Some individuals might be oppressed. Some might be the oppressors. What I’d like everyone to consider is the previous chapter which acknowledges it is God who provides. This ties so well to the sermon on the mount by Jesus. Matthew chapter 6:19-24 tells us that storing up treasures on earth is pointless because it all fades. Everything eventually turns to dust. In vs. 25, Jesus concludes the thought: “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will eat. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” How beautiful a perspective! Branding, marketing, businesses and social media outlets are obsessed with convincing every single one of us that our value as human beings is tied to the food we eat, clothes we wear and the stuff we horde. Yet Jesus is reminding us that those are insignificant fleeting fancies. Life is so much more than food and our bodies so much more than clothes.
How are these two tied together? The ordering of these perspectives is extremely important prior to proper application. For example, the bitter worker being under-paid will attack their employer, coworkers and businesses out of spite, anger and hatred. This is not godly or right. How often is the adage: “Two wrongs don’t make a right” used for children but forgotten once adults? Fighting evil with evil just creates more evil. Before addressing the unjust employer, one must remember it is God who provides and God who sustains us. God made the earth for us to enjoy, to live and to provide for us. It is the wickedness of selfish individuals that stand as barriers to God’s provision. That selfish individual might be you.
What do I mean? Well, first off, you might be the selfish employer paying wages below their true value contribution to the business. I can hear the employers crying out “foul” and excusing their behavior because of the “market.” However, this is completely irrelevant and the “market” is fickle and an illusion of behavior. How do I mean? I’m sure some have opened new tabs and pulled up advanced charts of statistics validating their confirmation bias; “See the market is real. Expert economists agree. Business structures revolve around it.” This is true. However, it is also true that these models, business structures and analysis were created, dictated and managed by fallible people. They are not absolutes. A forest is real but only if a tree exists previously. As employers, it is important to take responsibility for your own structures, accounting, employees and capacity in an honest fashion. The market is comprised of many individuals each managing their own businesses. If the most common denominator is a cheater, liar and thief, those upstanding business owners ought to fight against that “market model.” Please understand, this is not an anti-capitalist rant. This is a call to look yourself in the eyes and acknowledge your own behaviors honestly. Are you acting to honor God or honor yourself?
On the inverse side: those employees working under employers. Why would you antagonize those offering you opportunity? Do not “bite the hand that feeds.” God might have placed this opportunity in front of you to teach you a lesson or provide discipline for your own maturity. Do not make your employer’s life hell. Remember, God provided your employer the income and provided it for you too. Do not take it for granted simply because it was not acquired the way you desired to acquire it. Learn those personal traits that will help you become the next employer capable of blessing those around you: love, diligence, faithfulness, joy, discipline, courage, honor, patience and self-control.
My final thoughts are these: it is easy to use statistics of other people’s lives as shields to hide our own selfish ambitions. We shield the light from laying bare our hearts. We use the general statistics to feel justified in our sins. It is easy to believe we are the “marginalized” – despite being a statistical majority. Throw away the imposed beliefs provided by large internet data and turn to face the real threat: yourself. Our flesh will convince us that all the monsters are hiding “out there” to get us. Instead, open your heart and mind to the truth God desires to show you. Every individual is responsible for themselves. Do not be quick to cast the stone – you might be the convicted. Turn towards God and grow into the responsibilities set before you.
