God’s Hand-picked Audience
December 22, 2024
The ostentatious heart
August 25, 2018
Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. - JAMES 5:4-5
The person who fattens himself through oppressing others is like a sheep being fattened for slaughter. Such an individual lives “luxuriously,” strutting their wealth flamboyantly even though the riches have come by denying a just wage to those who labor for them.
The man or woman with an ostentatious heart experiences “wanton pleasure,” enjoyment that denies and ignores injustice. Right in the middle of Edinburgh, Scotland, there is a lush green pasture. Sheep turned loose in that emerald expanse could romp in the delight of being in such a rich field. But the pasture is the waiting place for sheep to be slaughtered.
God’s heart is stirred with indignation when people are unjust. They may think they are being fattened in a huge green pasture, but in truth they walk ostentatiously to judgment.
TODAY’S FOCUS
Consider those for whose welfare you are responsible. Are you making sure they are treated fairly? Ask God to give you wisdom to know how best to care for them.
