Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. (James 5:3 NIV)
You have lived on earth in luxury and self‑indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. (James 5:5 NIV84)
You will find these verses under "Warning to Rich Oppressors" in the NIV, but it's called "Destroying Your Life from Within" in the Message translation. The Bible is very clear about how material wealth/money can create a wedge between us and God. In the Beth Moore James Study, she shares a phrase that ancient Latin moralists used: "amor sceleratus habendi, which means "the accursed love of getting."
Accursed means under a curse, doomed, or ill-fated which is fitting considering that a "love of getting" leads to addictions including hoarding and shopping. This can lead to unmanageable debt, failed marriages and relationships, and the list goes on.
We can't take our "stuff" with us!
There is no true security in "stuff"!
Too much "stuff" is difficult to manage!
Someone could be using the "stuff" we're hoarding.
"Stuff can quickly become an idol"
Hoarding and Self-Indulgence can begin with a heart of fear, lack of security, and the wrong perspective. Pray for a "giving" heart and let God be your Everything!!
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