Ineffectual Dreamer.

 

James 5:1-6

In order for me to address what is called a warning to the rich, I must expose a secret life that I have not shared even with my family, I am very wealthy, I own oil fields, manor houses, and mansions all over the globe.   Yes, I am a dreamer much like the now famous Walter Mitty a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World and Welcome to It in 1942.  It was made into a film in 1947. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Mitty is a meek, mild man with a vivid fantasy life: in a few dozen paragraphs he imagines himself a wartime pilot, an emergency-room surgeon, and a devil-may-care killer. The character's name has come into more general use to refer to an ineffectual dreamer.  So for me to understand or take to heart James 5:1-6, I must do a little daydreaming, or is that true? “According to the United States Census Bureau, the pretax median household income in 2007 was $50,233. The median ranged from $68,080 in Maryland to $36,338 in Mississippi.
In 2007, the median real annual household income rose 1.3% to $50,233, according to the Census Bureau.  The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round climbed between 2006 and 2007, from $43,460 to $45,113. For women, the corresponding increase was from $33,437 to $35,102. The median income per household member (including all working and non-working members above the age of 14) was $26,036 in 2006. Those living below the poverty line with limited to no participation in the labor force; a household income of $18,000 may be typical.”  Do your homework and you will understand that $18,000 dollars in much of the world would make you very well off.  And yes, I do understand this is not the rest of the world, being born in the United States is a great blessing.
James is referring to a rich man who is a Christian, because the letter was addressed apparently to the Jewish converts.  As you read these verses, he is telling them of what has come to them because of their actions, and he goes on to tell them they have hoarded wealth and withheld the wages of the poor; and what seems to hit the church of today is the seeking of pleasure.  But these Christian businessmen, and some who were not Christian were also persecuting the righteous.  Could it be that James is laying out an analysis of true and false religion?
You will find many teaching to prepare, to save, but never to horde; you will also find Jesus telling us to share with a brother or sister in need.  You will also need wisdom to know when not to share because sometimes God is allowing the other family to reap what they have sown, but be very careful that God is directing your giving, not greed, or emotions.  It is always wrong to not pay a person for the services they have contracted to do for you.  And if you are, or have ever been a Walter Mitty, dreaming about riches; then you and I have lost focus, we have forgotten who our Father is and we have moved in our minds and hearts to looking for other sources, and not to our loving Father.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice