Reflection - Blessing or Curse

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051916.cfm

James 5:1-6
Mark 9:41-50

I would have preferred that neither James nor Mark had bothered to include these particular sections in their writings. First off, they are, in a variety of different ways, hard to reflect upon. Who can listen to this? Check out his words again.

     Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.

     Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,

     your gold and silver have corroded,

     and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;

     it will devour your flesh like a fire.

     You have stored up treasure for the last days.

In approaching this passage it's important to remember the vast differences between the economic system of James' time and the economic system of ours. In his day the overwhelming majority of people lived from payday to payday, that is to say, from one day to the next. It was an economy that understood Jesus' words, "give us this day our daily bread," precisely within the lived reality of day to day living. What we call the middle class was essentially non-existent. A storehouse of food in the kitchen pantry, or the home refrigerator, or the freezer was not even in the imagination. Preservatives, with some exceptions like salting, were a future invention. Canned goods were a non-reality. Frozen foods would not even have been in their sci-if novels, if such novels themselves had existed. When we consider the text, therefore, it is important to remember that this is the word of God, and that the truth of His words have a permanence for all time. So, what exactly is this truth that God wants me, and all the rest of humanity to know?

Some say wealth is a blessing; some say it is a curse. Others say those same contradictory things about poverty. However, it is a given that neither, of themselves, will get you into heaven and neither, of themselves, will condemn you to hell. But it's also true that either can advance the cause for your admittance into heaven; and either can promote the conditions for your admittance to hell. James says: be careful, be cautious, be hesitant, be reserved in your response to wealth. 

Now, as I initially read the passage, while simultaneously seeking to get off the hook, my response was to simply deny that I am rich. After all, if I'm not rich, then the passage doesn't apply to me. But then, a quick reality check and I'm forced to admit that, while morality may not be relative, wealth most certainly is. So I'm compelled to look at the text a little closer. When I do so, it becomes evident that James has far more in mind than the size of one's bank account or the value of one's IRA. After reminding the reader of the transitory character of wealth in any form, he pointedly directs attention to the manner in which that wealth was attained.

     Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers

     who harvested your fields are crying aloud;

     and the cries of the harvesters

     have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

It is this issue with which James seems to be concerned. And from there follow multiple questions that he is asking us to ponder: How did I come by this wealth? What am I to learn from having this wealth? What is the appropriate response to living with my particular degree of wealth? Interestingly enough, the same questions can be asked when living in poverty. How did I come to be in poverty? What am I to learn from living in poverty? What is the appropriate response to living at my particular level of poverty?

While we cannot ignore the matter of licit and illicit gains, an issue which James clearly brings to the fore, even that is not the focus of his teaching. The focus comes just a few verses later when he says: "Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

Whether wealth or poverty come to you through your mistreatment of your fellow man or come to you by way of what so many call "good/bad fortune," it makes no difference in the ultimate reality, for whether from good or from evil, it all always comes from God. It is planned for us, it is designed for us. No personal trainer could be more precise and exacting in designing the lifestyle which offers every single individual the best opportunity to grow closer to God. 

Age can give perspective and what I could not see-understand-foresee at the time of its happening has become more apparent as those events have aged. I can, for example, appreciate the strange blessing of being exempt from all but the most basic parental approval --- it kept me from developing an unwarranted self-pride, a vice I was all to ready to encourage into extravagant growth. I can, for example, appreciate the more obvious blessing of have my academic achievement recognized and honored --- it encouraged me to engage in a dedicated study of and, eventually, appreciation for, God's word.

Little things - big things, wealth - poverty --- it makes no difference. They all come from God. The questions are always the same: 

•      How did I come to be here? 
  
•      What am I to learn? 
  
•      What is the appropriate response?

Surprisingly, the answers are both quite generic and personally unique.

     How did I come to be here? 

          And my answer must be: All things come from God.

     What am I to learn?

          And my answer must be: In some way He wants me to grow closer.

     What is the appropriate response?

          And my answer must be: Yes! For I know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.