James 5:1-6
1
…ye
rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your
garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold
and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you,
and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for
the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of
the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is [because] of you kept
back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5
Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your
hearts, as in the day of slaughter. 6
Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
This post has been a long time
in coming. Although it may be somewhat risky (trust me, I don’t have any inside information, but who likes being
condemned?), I have had it on my heart for awhile and realize we must be
made more aware of this evil and dangerous enemy. The mafia is a clique of
secretive, fraudulent businessmen who become rich on others’ hard-earned money (their latest episode: mixing olive oil with
vegetable oil [which is cheaper] and selling it at the same price as 100% olive
oil). It originated, apparently, on the island of Sicily, but spread to the
whole of Italy. You wouldn’t believe it, but Guelph – in Ontario, Canada – is the
mafia capital of the world!
To the Mafia:
Why do you
think it’s okay to steal others’ money – those who work an honest living and
wish only to do what’s right? Read these verses. Read what the Lord has
discovered long before you existed.
These
people (“…the hire…”) who earn their
bread with honest labour (“…of the
labourers…”) have been heard by the Lord (“…the cries of them… are entered into the ears of the Lord…”),
because they were jipped (“…have reaped
down your fields, which is of you kept back…”) by your fraud (“…by fraud…”). Do you realize, in your
greed, that all those treasures which you possess will be of little importance (“Your riches… corrupted...your garments
motheaten….gold…silver…cankered;…”) at the end of the world, but in fact,
will increase (“…rust…shall be a witness
against you…”) your torment (“…shall
eat your flesh…”) in hell (“…as it
were fire….”)? You live with your greed, lust (“…lived in pleasure…and been wanton;…”), and all your hearts’
desires (“…nourished your hearts,…”),
yet those who have done the right thing by running away from you are shot so
you are not disclosed (“…killed the just;…”).
Your devilish power (“…doth not resist
you.”) is gained by fear (“…condemned…the
just;…”) and blackmail; but I am warning you, God’s power is much stronger
than Satan’s power, and each one of you who participates in this murder and
ruination of honesty will be sentenced to an ETERNITY in HELL (“…miseries that shall come upon you…”)
if repentance and belief in the Lord God is far from your hearts. You, yourselves,
will be responsible for the outcome of your judgement – hell or heaven – on Judgement
Day. On that day, you will either be delivered to the tormentors, or God will
open up the gates of heaven for your entrance.
It’s your
choice: will your greed send you to an “everlasting fire” (Matthew 25: 41), or will your honest living gain you residence in
the beautiful city?
