Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.
You have laid up treasure in the last days.
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. 
You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
(James 5:1-6, ESV)
Images shown are houses in the town of Windermere, FL. Just a few miles away live the laborers and minimum-wage workers who maintain these palaces.
Three Taverns Church 
January 23, 2014 at 2:50 pm
Does having a mansion automatically make you the “unrighteous rich”? Can a person be both righteous AND rich? Can a person live in a hovel and still have the same mind and heart as the “unrighteous rich”?
January 23, 2014 at 5:18 pm
I guess I don’t understand where you’re going with this. I don’t think I, or the author of James, used the word “righteous” anywhere in our writing. Can you help me understand the point you are trying to make?
January 23, 2014 at 10:24 pm
Who ARE the RICH that James is speaking about? Are they ALL people who have large mansions and more monetary wealth than most people? You have paired James’ words with pictures of mansions and the end remark, “Just a few miles away (from the pictured mansions) live the laborers and minimum-wage workers who maintain these palaces.” You seem to be implying that people who have such estates are probably greedy and selfish, and could not be true followers of Christ. As you quoted above, James says, “You (the rich person) have condemned and murdered the righteous person…”. This implies that the rich persons James is speaking of are the “unrighteous rich”, as they are opposed to the righteous.
Is it possible to be RICH with temporal wealth and still be righteous (be right with God)? Can a true follower of Christ have temporal wealth—“the righteous rich”? Do you think that temporal wealth(riches) and being a true follower of Jesus are mutually exclusive? Or…?
February 22, 2014 at 12:37 am
I was just reading over this scripture again. the last part of the verse where James is talking about condemning and murdering the righteous, I think he is saying that the rich people are doing that to themselves. they could be righteous but they choose to be self indulgent with wealth and so instead of being righteous (which I think they can be even if they have a lot of money) they choose to love money instead of God therefore they are murdering and condemning themselves.