Storing up wealth in this world goes against God's will and comes back to the sinner like a "karma boomerang".

Matthew 6:19-21

With biting cynicism James shows wealthy people the folly of storing up wealth right before it is all destroyed (James 5:4). Would you paint your house today if you knew a tornado would destroy it tomorrow? Would you have your car detail cleaned today if tomorrow you knew it will be totaled in a wreck? Why store up wealth when we are in the last days?

There will come a time when it will cost a whole day’s wages to buy 2 pounds of wheat or barley, and oil and wine will be so scarce that they will be guarded closely (Rev 6:5-6; compare Ezekiel 4:16).

Note how James 5:1-5 sounds like it could have been written by a prophet like Amos. For comparison, take a moment right now to read Amos 6:4-7. And then pray for God’s forgiveness, because I’m sure you’ll stand as convicted as me.

This section may sound prophetic because James may have been quoting from another apocalyptic writer who was familiar to the readers. We can’t know that, but it sounds speculatively plausible.

His message is "the very things that make you feel secure today will destroy you tomorrow. You have identified yourselves with your wealth and so you will be destroyed with it.” [See Matt 6:19-20]

At that time, the money we have stockpiled will to us be worth nothing , which is its actual value. Our green-printed paper and little round metal discs carry only the artificial value we as a society ascribe to them. On their own they are worth no more than any other piece of paper and little metal disc. This is as- or maybe even more- true of the digital records that we call bank accounts today. What is the actual (not ascribed) value of a gazillion binary digits?

But food has real value. God created it for our sustenance. Our bodies require it. Food is as valuable as life itself. So in those days, we’ll gladly give all our money for food to keep us going.

You can see now why James says that those who are wealthy in the eyes of this world, those who have wagered their investments according to artificial value, will weep and howl.

Those who oppressed poor people and cheated and mistreated laborers in order to build that worthless wealth will discover too late what real, eternal value is.

Take a moment right now to read Deuteronomy 24:14-15.

In the next section James will advise those who have been oppressed by worldly wealthy people.