(Originally posted March 3, 2010)
“Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you . . . Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you . . .” James 5:1,3
I'm so glad that scripture doesn't apply to me! I mean, there are tons of reminders every day that prove our financial struggles. Gas prices are just ridiculous, insurance premiums are soaring unchecked, and apparently growing kids equals a growing grocery bill. There's no way I would be considered the “rich” of the world.
So there's that line of thinking . . . and then there's the truth.
I face the fact that most nights we throw away enough dinner scraps to make a full feast for someone who's hungry. I have shoes in my closet that I'm still holding on to even though I haven't worn them in probably a year. We have cars, and they're in working condition most of the time. My electricity and water stay turned on every month, and we have more than enough blankets to keep us warm. By the majority of the world's standards, there's no way I would NOT be seen as “rich.”
So now that we've drawn the lines, how DOES this scripture speak to me? Am I letting my gold and silver rust rather than putting it to use in a Kingdom fashion?
In the context of the passage, the writer is talking about the wealthy who hold back the pay due their workers. The rich are hoarding and the poor are hungry. The gold and silver is rusting because it is sitting locked away as someone's “treasure”.
I guess the right idea is to keep the money moving. I try to see it through first century eyes: The wealthy landowner gives the gold coin to his day laborer who in turn gives the gold coin to his local Walmart associate to buy some produce. (something like that) Perhaps that Walmart associate will use the gold coin to pad the dowry of his daughter who will marry another day laborer that will again be provided for by the wealthy landowner's wages. It's a cycle. The gold can't rust if it's being passed from hand to hand providing for all those along the chain.
And if the wages are held back? In this case, no food, no marriage, no providence. But God hears their cries and takes action. The rust on the gold speaks volumes about this rich man's heart.
I don't mean this as a political statement, just a personal reminder to myself. In times when we feel we have the least, that's when we need to give the most. (see 2 Corinthians 8:1-4 about being generous even in one's own poverty) Someone once said, “If I have two coats, one belongs to the poor.” I want to get there. I would like to see money as utilitarian, a means to an end, just another process God has set up for us to steward; never something to chase after.
I think it's all about being spiritually-minded rather than earthly-minded. Keeping our eyes on The Day, we can't let ourselves begin piling up these treasures just to watch them rust. There are so many who truly need our help right now.
We've got to keep the gold shiny.
Sidenote: Here's some of my favorite places to help "polish the gold".
Do you have one to add to the list?
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