THE WEALTH TRAP

THE WEALTH TRAP
James 5:1-6
"You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter." (v. 5)

WE SOMETIMES SPEAK OF THE "poverty trap". By that we mean that those living in poverty cannot help but fall in a downward spiral towards deeper and deeper poverty. I wonder if we should not also speak of a similar danger of a "wealth trap". Wealth ensnares, and lures the wealthy into a downward plunge into greater and greater evil.

James brings four charges against the rich. Since he does not address them as "brothers" nor issue a pastoral call for their repentance (see e.g. 4.8; 11), they are likely to be unbelievers. Firstly, they are guilty of hoarding (vv.2-3). The reference to moths and corrosion imply that their wealth of clothes, gold and silver have been kept for a long time. The accumulation of material possessions gives the owners a false sense of security. This is the first step of the "wealth trap".

Secondly, James charges the rich of exploitation (v.4). They have not paid the wages of their workers. It is not that they do not have the means. They have it, but they need it to feel secure, and are not willing to part with it. They have become calloused to the needs of others, and hardened against the sense of justice. Though they may be deaf to the cries of the workers, God hears them as He did the pleas of the suffering slaves in Egypt (Ex 3.7).

Thirdly, the wealthy are trapped by "luxury and indulgence" (v.5). Once they taste pleasure, addiction soon follows. When mighty empires fall, they usually begin with the soft living and moral decay in the high places. It is only a matter of time when the obese rich meet their doom, like fattened cattle for the day of slaughter.

Finally, they are guilty of the murder of the innocent. Not paying their wages is bad enough, but the killing of the innocent is taking their evil one step further down the spiral. Wealth and power intoxicate, and when they do, the rich and powerful will not stop at anything to eliminate those who stand in their way. Elijah's life was sought, and John the Baptist was beheaded, essentially to protect the existing power structure.

May God save us from the snare of wealth. It begins subtly with a false security in material things, grows into an insensitivity towards the needs of others, coupled with an addiction to our own wants. In the end, it becomes a god for which we live and kill.

Am I falling into the wealth trap?