What Really Matters

Please read this last chapter from James’ letter all the way through. It is from the Lamsa translation of the Aramaic and has good insight for our lives.

1. You rich men, weep and howl for the miseries which shall come upon you!
2. Your riches are destroyed and rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
3. Your gold and silver are tarnished, and the rust of them will be a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh. The treasures which you have heaped together will be as fire to you for the last days.
4. Behold, the wage of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, that which you have fraudulently kept back, cries: and the cry of the reapers has already entered into the ears of the LORD of sabaoth.
5. For you have had your luxuries on earth and have been greedy; you have fed your bodies as for the day of slaughter.
6. You have condemned and murdered the righteous; and yet he does not resist you.
7. But you, my brethren, be patient, until the coming of the LORD, just as the husbandman waits for the precious crops of his field, and has long patience for it, until he receives the early and the latter rain.
8. You be patient also: strengthen your hearts: for the coming of our LORD is at hand.
9. Complain not one against another, my brethren, lest you be condemned: for behold judgment is at hand.
10. My brethren, take the prophets who have spoken in the name of the LORD, for an example of patience in your suffering.
11. Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen what the LORD did for him at the end; for the LORD is very merciful and compassionate.
12. But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your words be yes, yes, and no, no; lest you fall under condemnation.
13. If any among you be afflicted, let him pray. If any be merry, let him sing psalms.
14. And if any be sick, let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of our LORD:
15. And the prayer of faith shall heal the sick, and our LORD shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man is powerful.
17. Even Elijah, who was a weak man like ourselves, prayed earnestly that it might not rain upon the land, and it did not rain for three years and six months.
18. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruits.
19. My brethren, if any of you do err from the way of the truth, and some one converts him from his error,
20. Let him know that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall wipe out a multitude of sins.

Let’s look at these truths to see how they can help our lives.

You rich men, weep and howl for the miseries which shall come upon you!
Your riches are destroyed and rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver are tarnished, and the rust of them will be a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh. The treasures which you have heaped together will be as fire to you for the last days.

Many people think that spending their time to gain earthly wealth or fame or pleasure is what life should be about. But our time here is limited. Jesus showed us how to love the Father and others. Worldly gain will bring only weeping in the future. Those things will rot away and tarnish, and physical riches will burn up like fire and not stand the test of eternity.

Behold, the wage of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, that which you have fraudulently kept back, cries: and the cry of the reapers has already entered into the ears of the LORD of sabaoth.
For you have had your luxuries on earth and have been greedy; you have fed your bodies as for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned and murdered the righteous; and yet he does not resist you.

How have we loved and cared for others? Some oppress and lay others low to elevate themselves. Yet the heavenly Father is not deaf this kind of thinking and actions. It may seem that way from our time perspective, but we can be patient.

But you, my brethren, be patient, until the coming of the LORD, just as the husbandman waits for the precious crops of his field, and has long patience for it, until he receives the early and the latter rain.
You be patient also: strengthen your hearts: for the coming of our LORD is at hand.
Complain not one against another, my brethren, lest you be condemned: for behold judgment is at hand.
My brethren, take the prophets who have spoken in the name of the LORD, for an example of patience in your suffering.
Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen what the LORD did for him at the end; for the LORD is very merciful and compassionate.

Like Job, we can endure the Devil’s attacks, knowing that God is greater. When we plant seeds, we must wait for them to mature and produce fruit. We can strengthen our hearts, knowing that when Christ returns for us, we will be amply rewarded for the good we do in this life.

But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your words be yes, yes, and no, no; lest you fall under condemnation.
If any among you be afflicted, let him pray. If any be merry, let him sing psalms.
And if any be sick, let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of our LORD:
And the prayer of faith shall heal the sick, and our LORD shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man is powerful.

There is no need to try and tell God what to do. He is greater than all. When we are down, we pray. When we are blessed, we sing praises. We have members in the body of Christ to help us overcome life’s challenges. Prayer is God’s way of invoking the eternal into the present.

Even Elijah, who was a weak man like ourselves, prayed earnestly that it might not rain upon the land, and it did not rain for three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruits.
My brethren, if any of you do err from the way of the truth, and some one converts him from his error,
Let him know that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall wipe out a multitude of sins.

Read I Kings chapters 17 and 18 sometime. You will see that Elijah obeyed the Lord and saw deliverance. We can speak life-giving words to those who err from God’s loving and patient ways. Tell others of the risen Christ who can be their Lord. They will receive eternal life and begin a journey of love and power (Romans 10:9,10).

May the Lord be with you and bless you.