Week 5: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, 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 self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

I live in a first world country, work for a church, and am free to worship anywhere I see fit. My children have running water for showers and multiple pairs of shoes. This chapter applies to me and I would put my excess money down that it applies to you, too. Here’s my practical list of areas to improve based on this last push from James.

1. On Luxury and Self-indulgence: Do I pay well for those who serve me? Mow my lawn, take care of repairs, serve me food, watch my children…
2. On Grumbling and Swearing: Do I complain? About my job, spouse, children, finances, home, back yard, lack of vacation, friends, co-workers, health, beauty, church, neighbors…
3. On Being Real: Do I wear a poker face? At church, on holidays, at my computer, with my family, at work, in front of other mothers…
4. On Confessing: Do I confide in anyone and actually pray for her? Making deep friendships isn’t easy for most people. We lack trust and confidentiality. We fear judgement and abandonment. We are stuck in our ways and defend ourselves until sin becomes a monster. Healing is tough to accept, but it shouldn’t be. We should want to be made whole more than anything else on this earth.
5. On Bringing someone back: Am I creating Amber Alerts for abducted souls? My neighbors, my co-workers, my friends, my family, the poor, widows, orphans, outcast, homeless, defenseless, abused…

Our challenge for this week is to write down what hurts our hearts from the above list and pray. Pray that God would show us what to DO about those around us who desperately need the truth. We have a living God who provided us a rescuer. It is our purpose to DO all we can to change the world. AMEN