DCLM Daily Manna Saturday 11 November 2023
TOPIC: Gain Through Fraud
TEXT: James 5:1-11 (KJV)
5 Go to now, 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 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 a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
KEY VERSE
“Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is 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.”
(James 5:4)
DCLM Daily Manna Saturday 11 November 2023 MESSAGE
One of the fastest ways to get rich is what is now called “Yahoo plus” in parts of Africa and elsewhere. Some youths, who want to get rich quick, get involved in fraudulent activities. They go to the extent of making money rituals. Their adult counterparts go into politics, not to better the lives of the ordinary citizens, but to get rich quick through corrupt practices.
They end up hurting themselves more by hurting others. Many rich people make their wealth through fraud and oppression. They refuse to pay their employees the income legitimately earned. They use their connections to condemn and kill the just and allow criminals and murderers to escape. The oppressed are urged to endure persecution and not resort to self-help in their search for justice. They are told to consider the patience of Job and see how he was comforted at last.
READ DCLM Daily Manna Friday 10 November 2023 – Inadequate Defence
They are enjoined to wait for the soon return of Christ, who shall put an end to all sorrows, suffering and oppression. The problem of corruption is very serious because it accounts for the poverty and underdevelopment of many nations. The rich become richer while the poor become poorer. The corrupt people who are at the centre of this are well connected. They can escape or delay justice by bribing judges who then grant them immunity from prosecution.
However, no matter how long, the long arm of divine justice will eventually catch up with those who short-circuit themselves to wealth and success by way of fraud. Even if justice does not eventually come here on earth, payday will come at the coming judgment executed by the great Judge Himself.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Judgment may be delayed, but it will never be avoided.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 1-2
