Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

James 5:1-6 (NRSV)

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

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Reflect

“You rich people…” When I was younger I always struggled with this passage. How did this passage have anything to do with someone who was not rich?!? Well, as I grew in age and hopefully wisdom, I learned about my privilege. This passage should cause pause in those who read it. If we have “extra” of anything, we need to ask how we are handling that extra. Is it being wasted? Will it rot away? If we hire anyone for any job, are we paying them a worthwhile wage for the job? Would we be willing to do said job for the wage we want to offer?

In our society we have come to value certain types of jobs over others. Based on salaries we could assume that as a society we value the profession of a sports player over that of the profession of teacher. One could ascertain we value an entertainer’s craft over a city sanitation worker’s skill.

We, as God’s people, need to get back to valuing the dignity of the worker rather than simply valuing the work they do. Hard work takes on many shapes and forms (and not always in a traditional “job” sense). People who are struggling to find jobs, or finding a home to live in, or single parents waiting tables, or taking food orders—are often working quite hard—but the payoff isn’t enough to make a real impact. Many are crying out and their cries have reached the ears of God. In turn, God is calling us to be the hands and feet of Christ—to share what we have in order to shed light on the dignity of those who work, who are indeed children of God.

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Pray

Creation’s Architect, you call us to be co-caretakers of creation—to work alongside you. You created humanity in your own image and we are to see the Imago Dei in your created. Help us to value the dignity of each other. As we hear the cries of others, may we respond with generosity. Amen.

Go with God.