James, a little book of wisdom: we are all rich

Today’s wisdom:

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.  James 5:1-6

My random musings: 

First of all, let me point out that we are all rich. We’re probably not one of the super rich of the world, but compared to most of the world’s population, we are rich. We have enough. More than enough.

I look around at all that I have. And give thanks. I’m grateful. Yes, I may have worked hard for what I have, but plenty of people around the world work hard and do not earn enough to live on. By an accident of birth, I am rich. I lead a comfortable life. Many, many others are not so fortunate. I must never forget that.

I must therefore never take what I have for granted. Everything I have is from God. None of it really belongs to me. I have to hold loosely and use everything I have as a resource for God. That means being really good at sharing. Being generous is not a choice.

I hold loosely because I know that none of it lasts. Things, however lovely and beautiful, are just things. Material things are not the things that really matter at the end of the day.

I know, too, that there is a cost attached to the things I have. I do not directly pay the wages of the growers in the field and the producers in the factory. But by buying cheap clothes, coffee and chocolate, I contribute to their misery around the world. By expecting cheap delivery and cheap meals in restaurants, I contribute to poor wages in this country. That’s what fair trade is all about. Most people are not prepared to pay what an item costs to be grown and produced in fair conditions with everyone involved being paid a fair wage. We say we can’t afford that. And yet while we as rich consumers insist of having everything at the cheapest price possible, the world’s wealth will never be distributed fairly and hard-working skilled people will continue to suffer.

James really goes for it, doesn’t he? He holds nothing back. I really love that although it makes for a tough read. But we all need to be challenged, don’t we? What are we going to do with it?

My question for you:

What is your attitude to all that you have and in what ways (if any) does it need to change?