Title: Wealthy Unrighteous
Contents
1. Words that begin
Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other, for ye cannot serve both God and riches.” . These are the words that Jesus saw through and warned that the only thing that exerts as much power as God over all humans is wealth. It can be said that golden universalism prevailed not only in the modern capitalist market economy system, but also in all times. Amos 4:1 says, “Hear this, you cows of Bashan, who dwell in the mountains of Samaria, you oppress the poor, you oppress the needy, and say to your fathers, Bring wine, that we may drink.” .
Therefore, 1 Timothy 6:10, which says, “The love of money is the root of all evil, and those who longed for it have been deceived and have erred from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
2. Suffering of the rich and unjust
The apostle James, the brother of Jesus, said, “Listen, you rich, weep and weep for the troubles that are coming upon you. As A. E. Barnett commented, “Wealth, like desire, is now cursed as a false and vain goal.” However, J. Wesley rightly commented that wealth itself is not a bad thing, and C. R. Erdman rightly commented that having a lot of wealth is not a sin. 1 Samuel 2:7 says, “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he humbles and exalts.”
Some emphasize God with those who suffer. But God is not only with those who are afflicted, but also with those who are at peace. God is not only with the poor, but also with the rich. God, who fills the heavens and the earth, is especially with them and makes them prosper, not the poor or suffering, nor the rich or peaceful, but those who trust and obey God.
The rich suffer not because they are wealthy or because they are a wealthy and privileged class, but because they are the unjust rich. In verse 2 and below, the sins of the rich, who will suffer hardship, are mentioned in detail. Suffering will surely come to all the rich unjust, whether Jews or early Christians, pagans or unbelievers.
The Greek word for “suffering” is talaiporiais (ταλαιπωρ?αι?), which means not only the misfortune of the Last Judgment, but all the suffering to come.
Presidents and prime ministers, high-ranking or upper-class people, chaebols or merchants, artists and teachers, communist dictators and gangsters, including the above-mentioned unjust rich people, who have made illicit wealth such as bribery, will rejoice and rejoice over the accumulated wealth. no. When the time is right, we should weep and weep as we think of God's chastisement, especially the suffering caused by the Last Judgment, who makes us reap what we sow.
The Greek word for “weep” is oloruzontes (?λολ?ζοντε?), which means “to cry stronger than simply to weep. In the Old Testament, it is sometimes translated as 'weep', especially to describe the frantic horrors of those who will be judged by God. In Luke 6:25, Jesus said, “Woe to you who are now full, you will be hungry; woe to you who laugh now, you will weep and mourn.”
3. The sins of the rich and unjust
The Apostle James points out the four sins that are the cause of the unrighteous and rich people's suffering that has no choice but to cry out for God's judgment.
First, he committed the sin of ruining material things through greed. In verses 2 and 3, we read, “Your riches are rotten, your clothes are moth-eaten, and your gold and silver are rusted, and this rust will be a witness to you and will eat your flesh like fire. Said. Many people are naked, starving, and even married without a ring, but they did not use a lot of various materials with love for the glory of God. They just piled up grain to rot, piled up many expensive clothes to corrode, and piled up gold and silver treasures to rust.
According to newspapers and broadcasts, millions of people in North Korea are starving to death, and they are starving and fleeing because they have no way to live. It is said to have been poured. Isn't there a priority for personal or country affairs? If that's the case in any democracy, it's not much better.
We can glorify God by using our wealth as a means of love for the good that is God's will.
Another problem is that God's blessings, which are given to all mankind to be used, are being ruined by other people as well. J. Calvin commented, “They are also enemies of mankind, since the result of the accumulation of wealth is that it does not benefit anyone, and consequently ruins what God has created for human use.”
This attitude of the rich proves that they did not accumulate money for the glory and love of God, but did it out of greed. Being a slave to greed, unlike a thief who steals because he has nothing to eat, he likes bribes, which disgrace him despite his wealth. Bribery, no matter how large or small, is a morally unclean act, and it is a legal offense, so don't do it, and live proudly with the thought that you might die today. People who take bribes have to do their jobs while they are alive, living well before the issue of bribery, and then going to jail or committing suicide with responsibility once the issue of bribery arises.
Second, they were exploited or robbed. Verse 4 says, “Behold, the ears of the Lord of hosts have heard the cry of the unpaid wages, and the weeping of the reapers.” At that time, the laborers suffered from starvation, so if they did not receive wages, they had no choice but to starve with their families. Rich unrighteous people who know such a situation deserve to love more than their wages, but rather they exploited that situation to exploit or take away the wages of poor laborers. The cries of the laborers who suffered terrible damage were heard in the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Entrepreneurs should promote symbiotic coexistence with the belief that the sweat and hard work of workers is helpful for their own wealth, and that workers can get a job and live with a company. There are always differences between the rich and the poor, talents, and abilities in human society, so the differences must be filled with love, not denied or discriminated against.
Third, they abused or misused much of their wealth. In verse 5, it says, “You have lived in luxury on earth, and have contacted them, so that your hearts are nourished in the day of the slaughter.”
W. Barclay, referring to the Greek word for “luxury” etrupaset (?τρυφ?σατε), describes the luxury that slowly weakens and destroys the moral aptitude of man, destroying the powers of the spirit and body and making them helpless. It was said to be a description of luxury. Also, the Greek word for “contact”, espataresate (?σπαταλ?σατε), is said to mean a life of lewdness and debauchery indulging in lustful pleasures.
Rich people who raked up their wealth unjustly abused it to destroy their morals, spirituality, and body, and also used them to lead a lewd and licentious life. These unrighteous rich people are like beasts that eat up fat without knowing that they will be slaughtered on the day of the banquet.
Fourth, by giving a bribe to a judge, he condemned and killed the righteous who did not resist. Verse 6 says, “You condemned the righteous, and you killed them, and he did not oppose you.” The sins of the unjust rich, who accumulated wealth to decay, cheated on wages, and misused wealth, reached its climax here. The biggest reason the unrighteous rich people condemn and kill the righteous is that, to those who lead an unjust life, the righteous are reluctant to see their ugly side.
4. Conclusion
Not only ordinary people, but also clergy, leaders, and rulers cannot avoid the day when they will cry out for the hardship they will face if they become rich through corruption and unrighteous methods such as bribery stemming from greed. Living without realizing it and continuing to ruin material things through greed, extorting or extorting wages, misusing wealth as luxury and debauchery, and condemning and killing the righteous is evidence of eternal punishment in the fire of hell.
In these last days, when the end is nearing, I hope that all of us will live by faith working through love for firm salvation, rather than accumulating wealth.
(Poongseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete Commentary on 27 New Testament Books/ Interpretation of Difficult Scriptures I, II/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/Paul’s Understanding of Man/ Prosperous Prayer/ Seasonal Sermonbooks/ Sermonbook 18. T. 426 -3051)