Was James a Marxist or what?

 

The following is an excerpt from my study on the book of James,
It's All About Focus, dealing with the following passage:

James‬ ‭5:1‭-‬6‬ ‭CJB‬‬

¹ Next, a word for the rich: weep and wail over the hardships coming upon you! ² Your riches have rotted, and your clothes have become moth-eaten; ³ your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat up your flesh like fire! This is the last days, and you have been storing up wealth! ⁴ Listen! The wages you have fraudulently withheld from the workers who mowed your fields are calling out against you, and the outcries of those who harvested have reached the ears of the LORD of Hosts. ⁵ You have led a life of luxury and self-indulgence here on earth — in a time of slaughter, you have gone on eating to your heart’s content. ⁶ You have condemned, you have murdered the innocent; they have not withstood you.

https://bible.com/bible/1275/jas.5.1.CJB

So... Was James a Marxist or what?

Reading [that passage], one might think so. However, James isn't suggesting that the Kingdom of God involves the political overthrow of human governments. His brother told Pontius Pilate, My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would be fighting…

When Jesus answered a trick question regarding taxation, He replied, Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. There is a difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Caesar - or any human government.

Depending on how it came to power, a human government is answerable to its own hierarchy, or to those who put them in power, be it the people who voted them in, or their representatives (MPs, senators and congressmen), or oligarchs, or their military, or the monarchy, or popular revolution. Whether they are tough on things like immigration or border controls, or are very lax, depends on the concerns or interests of those within the hierarchy, or on the constituents that voted them into office. Murder and theft are generally outlawed, but what other activities are criminalised would likewise depend on the conditions of rule. They may allow slavery or abolish it - or child labour, or domestic abuse. They may restrict religious freedom or freedom of expression if those go against their interests. It’s nice when the State takes care of the poor, provides education, social services, and covers medical costs from public funds, but that hasn’t always been the case, and the time for that could cease. All that is what human government does.

The Kingdom of God has its own rules that may or may not be compatible with human government. Their interests may overlap like a Venn diagram. The Parameters of that overlap are Romans 13:1-5 on one side, and Acts 5:29 on the other; between where it says we must obey those in authority, and the other that says we must obey God rather than man.

Where the mandate of the Kingdom of God has come into conflict with human government, believers have faced incarceration and even death for their allegiance to the Kingdom of God. Christians were thrown to the lions in Rome, and even today, believing in Messiah carries a harsh sentence in some radical states. Under regimes like ISIS and even in Saudi Arabia, believers are beheaded. In times that slavery was sanctioned, groups like the Quakers and other conscientious believers assisted slaves who were escaping from their masters, following Deut 23:16 and 17 (which forbids returning escaped slaves to their masters even where slavery is allowed). Some believers in Europe risked their lives to save Jewish people from being taken away by the Nazis. Sadly, others understood only one of the above parameters and thought their duty to the state meant handing the Jews over. So, our role as citizens of the Kingdom of God may come into conflict with the expectations of any of the kingdoms of this world.

Nowhere does the New Testament criticise secular governments for doing what they do.7 Forcing human government to bow to the Kingdom of God, has never been our mandate8. Of course, where the system allows it, such as in a democracy, we can vote and even run for office. Paul even pleaded his rights as a Roman citizen on occasion. Citizens of the Kingdom of God may interact with world politics - just don’t let our involvement bind people to the message of the Kingdom of God, as has happened in the West. Always leave scope for “friendship evangelism”. Also, we can be thankful for good things that have been accomplished by the kingdoms of this world, such as the ending of legal slave trade, abolition of slavery, the defeat of Naziism, and various civil rights acts, and even social services. All the while, keep in mind that the kingdoms of this world will not be part of the Kingdom of our God until the time stated in Revelation, when that proclamation is made.

In the meantime, the pendulum could very well swing in the other direction. If that happens, again, take joy, as that would be a trial to make us stronger.

So, whatever James had in mind, the [passage] was not a political manifesto...

In the study, we do get into some practical application which may or may not make some squirm. Over all, the epistle of James makes for a rewarding study, once we understand the meaning.