Ezekiel 42:1-43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1-16; Proverbs 28:6-7
“You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter” (Jam. 5:5).
Wow! These words are very piercing and convicting. There
are many times I wonder if that’s just what we are doing in our comfortable
middle class lives. Sure, I’m not the richest person out there, but I do very
much live in luxury. I would like to be able to afford a few more full body
massages, but I seriously do have pretty much every comfort I need and want. Am
I fattening myself on the day of slaughter?
I am extra sensitive to passages like these as we
approach the holiday season. All around me are advertisements shoved in front
of my eyes for stuff and more stuff. My kids grab all those Black Friday
newspaper ads and plow through them updating me every 30 seconds with what they
would like to have for Christmas. Am I teaching my kids to fatten themselves on
the day of slaughter?
What is this passage really talking about? After
reflecting on it and praying over it, here’s my take on it. No commentaries or
Bible scholars were consulted, so take this for what it’s worth as my
understanding of what Scripture is trying to say here.
Let’s look at the context this piercing verse is found in
(I do remember something from my Bible classes!). First, James is talking
in the four preceding verses about how the rich people have “failed to
pay the workmen who mowed [their] fields” and that their cries “have reached
the ears of the Lord Almighty” (Jam. 5:4). James is condemning the rich because they
have not treated the poor with justice and given them their due wages. That is
how they have fattened themselves in the day of slaughter.
Secondly, the three verses following James 5:5 talk about
how the end times are coming and we should “be patient and stand firm, because
the Lord’s coming is near” (Jam. 5:8). This shows us that the rich people in verse 5
were totally oblivious to the time in which they lived. Their priorities were
all wrong. They were fattening themselves up, not knowing that on that very day
they were going to be slaughtered. If they knew they were going to be slaughtered,
do you think they would have done things differently? Absolutely!
These reflections cause me to ask some probing questions
about my own life:
-How am I treating the poor? Am I treating them fairly? Am I actively pursuing
ways to help them in their livelihood? Do I try to help give them good work and
purpose? How can I really do this in my middle class life and neighborhood? Oh
Lord, show me. I want to love the poor like your Word commands us to over and
over again.
-Am I aware of the signs of the times? Am I watching, preparing, anticipating
your return? Am I more concerned with laying up my treasures in heaven than here
on earth? Where does my energy go - to accumulating more and more, or to giving my possessions and myself to others? Lord, have mercy on me. May I have the
eyes to see where you are at work and the desire to join you whole-heartedly.
- Mary Matthias
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