Murder and oppression
By Peter Leithart
Do we murder the poor when we abuse them? James thinks so. At the beginning of chapter 5, he sharply rebukes the rich, reminding them that they have not paid the laborers who mowed their fields (v. 3). Like Abel’s blood, the laborers “cry out against you, and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” (v. 4), that is, the “Lord of Armies.”
Untimely pay seems a minor oversight. Not for James: It’s a sin of Cain.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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