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James 5:4
4 Behold [idou], the hire [misthos] of the labourers [ergates] who [ho] have reaped down [amao] your [humon] fields [chora], which [ho] is of [apo] you [humon] kept back by fraud [apostereo], crieth [krazo]: and [kai] the cries [boe] of them which have reaped [therizo] are entered [eiserchomai] into [eis] the ears [ous] of the Lord [kurios] of sabaoth [sabaoth]. KJV-Interlinear
4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. NASB
The system of commerce and society are both condemned in this verse.
God created the earth for believers. God created the universe for believers. God will destroy the entire world and universe eventually, and re-create a totally brand new one for believers only.
The ultimate intended heir is the mature believer. Of course all believers, including the immature, will inherit in eternity, but the mature believers will receive the vast majority of whatever the Lord has to offer.
During this life, we live in a world of unbelievers and spiritually negative believers. Those negative types imitate the life style and attitude of the unbelievers, and therefore are not much better in so far as their social contribution.
Since the world was intended for mature believers, then all that unbelievers and negative believers do, is take things to which they are not entitled.
This verse contrasts the master and the slave. The slave does more than his share, and receives very little in return, even to the point of not having enough to support himself and his family.
The master, is one who would otherwise have to do the work, but instead takes and takes, and hoards what he has, gets the slave to do the necessary work, and does not reimburse the slave properly.
The work of the slave in the spiritual sense, is to function as the mature believer does. The mature believer studies and prays, and in return, God gives grace and support to the world primarily for the benefit of the mature believer.
The unbeliever and negative believer have no access to God, so their prayers are not heard. They receive blessings from God as a result of their association with mature believers. Their blessings are not direct. But their spiritual work effort is zero.
Example: Mature believers need air to breathe. God provides air. Consequently, unbelievers receive the blessing of air, not because God gave it directly to them, but because God gave air to mature believers and therefore there is air for unbelievers as well. Their blessing is by association.
Mature believers need work and income. God creates an economy, for all to work. All are blessed as a result of that economy, regardless of their spiritual status, but the primary target is the mature believer.
So, the mature believer is doing all of the work, the spiritual work. And God responds to their call (cries to God).
Unbelievers and negative believers, take more than their share, while they are not even entitled to anything. In the spiritual sense, the unbelievers do nothing, the negative believers do nothing.
The unbelievers and negative believers see themselves as the authors of their own destiny, the masters of their own lives. They hoard up their worldly possessions (things or attitudes or beliefs) and wait for the divine calling they expect to receive. That call never comes as they expect it.
God is the Lord of ‘hosts.’ That is the meaning of ‘sabaoth.’ God hears from all corners of the universe. God has infinite power, infinite abilities, and infinite attentions directed to each and every living person. God can deal with all situations just as easily as He can deal with one.
The unbeliever and negative believer are concerned with only their own situation, and no one elses.
