Look here, you rich people, weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. – James 5:1-2
A few weeks ago, I took two suits to the cleaners. Even though I haven’t bought a new suit in a few years, I bought good suits that were fashionable without being faddish. They may never be totally “in” style, but they are never really out of style. Like the navy blue blazer I bought. It isn’t the newest thing you’d see in GQ magazine, but it is an acceptable jacket for most occasions.
When I got home with the clean suits, I noticed that one of the jackets had moth holes in the back, and that really disappointed me. You know the feeling when you’ve lost something of value and there is nobody to blame but yourself? That was the feeling I had. It is (or was) a nice suit, and because I neglected to take proper care of it, I feel I’ve wasted a couple of hundred dollars on a jacket I cannot wear. And, because I believe the money I spend is actually God’s money (1 Chronicles 29:14), then I felt I wasted His money, too.
Fast-forward to last Wednesday night. I’m humming along teaching out of James and we get to chapter five. As I read this passage it occurs to me – I’m so rich I have fine clothes that are now moth-eaten rags rotting in my closet! Yeah, that hurt.
