there is another financial
issue here in chapter 5 that james talks about.
this is the issue of appropriation
of wealth. GOD is not only
concerned with what we’ve got but also how we got it.
just a thought from the
front porch
he says, don’t steal it. don’t use dishonest means to rip people off
and there are a lot of different ways to make dishonest money.
in the nt, you worked on a
daily basis. you were hired at the
beginning of the day, you worked all day and at the end of the day you were
given your pay. a man would go into town
and hire the workers, there were no contracts, no labor unions to protect the
workers. if the boss wanted to rip you
off, he could.
you could work all day and the
boss come out and say, “i don't like your work,” then you went home with no
money. he kept the money and also got
your work. this is what james is criticizing. verse 4 (niv), the wages you failed to pay
the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you.
if i charge too much, if i
sell a used car to you and don’t tell you about major repairs, if i cheat on
taxes, if i waste time and i’m being paid for it, that is wrong and i’m no
different than the unscrupulous employer.
if i don’t pay back a debt that is being dishonest.
No comments:
Post a Comment