James does not mince his words here! An earlier section of the letter indicated that some rich people were oppressing the church, so maybe this is a response to that. Whatever the case, the wealthy can easily become proud and arrogant. This is a warning against such attitudes. All material wealth will ultimately become worthless.
"You have hoarded wealth in the last days". In the US there are some silly groups which talk about hoarding gold in response to global crises. This is not biblical! The sensible response in all situations is to trust God, to continue to do good, to be merciful and generous. Ie to exhibit the fruit of the spirit.
Exploitation of workers is castigated as well. Jesus said things like woe to you who laugh now. We need to take these warnings seriously, and examine our attitudes and actions.
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