As many of you know, I will be publishing James, a book on the Letter of James from the Bible, on February 21st! In anticipation of that, I've been posting snippets of the book for all of you to enjoy. Here's another:

Greed and All of Its Friends

Before we dive into the ways that greed acts, let’s examine the roots of greed. In his first shot across the bow of the greedy, James claims that the greedy have “laid up treasure in the last days.” In this case, the treasure relates to material gain or anything that can be horded. These are the people who have gained more than they need but are unwilling to give a portion of the excess to those in need.

What does he mean by “last days”? There are various understandings of this. Firstly, the early Christians believed that God was going to come back in a very short time, so it’s possible that James may have meant that. The “last days” also can refer to the time period right before the end of the world that is most thoroughly discussed in the book of Revelation. However, having just discussed the vapor-like timeframe of the human soul a few lines ago, it is more likely that the “last days” that James is referring relate to the certainty and proximity of our own deaths and subsequent judgment. In the New Living Translation, this phrase is translated this way: “This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment” (James 5:3b NLT). In The Message translation, the focus of the phrase becomes even clearer: “You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment” (James 5:3b MSG).

Rather than only obsessing over the timeframe of the “last days” or “end times” are, we ought to be preparing for our upcoming Judgment Day. It will be here before we know it and we should be ready to stand before God without a mountain of rotting, burning treasure to judge us.

How do we do that? Well, let’s examine the symptoms that characterize greedy people. The greedy, stingy and corrupt rich in this passage are those that do not attend to what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

In Job 27:16-19 we see a similar warning:

…though he heap up silver like dust, and pile up clothing like clay, he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. He builds his house like a moth’s, like a booth that a watchman makes. He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.

We know from James chapter 2 that our works are outward evidence of our inward thoughts. In the momentary lives we have, we are faced with choices every day that test our priorities.

Money is an obvious first choice as it can be an enabler to the rest of the roots of greed. It is also the most recognizable form in our culture. Jesus explicitly dealt with money on many occasions. One that is most applicable to this section is this quote: “No one 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. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Rather than requiring a complete rejection of money, Jesus was stating the importance of the orienting our lives around him rather than on gathering material wealth.

Though the rest of these variations of greed may be less frowned upon in our culture, they are still just as sinful as the greed for money. This flavor of greed demands things be done perfectly and immediately, regardless of the toll it takes on others or on ourselves. Perfectionism often gets entangled with control, which places value in being able to manipulate and command others. Rather than just desiring perfection in its surroundings, power requires that others be under its thumb. The amassing of power and control is greed at its most dangerous.

There are many other strands of greed, but at their core all of these roots are fastened to the soil of impatience or pride. They gain their strength from our fears, lusts and self-absorption. Ultimately, James and many other parts of the Bible are warning us against making decisions that do not take God’s eternal priorities into account. No matter what variation of greed you encounter or experience in yourself, it all stems from leaving God out of the equation.

For more information on James, click here.