Why does no-one call it the book of Jim?

James, in its short and to-the-point delivery of important morals, has a very clear message on wealth. In its final chapter, James really lays it down hard on rich folks, forecasting misery and destruction ahead of them that oppress others with money. The general theme of the book is getting people on a common page: instructing the rich to respect and equate themselves to the poor, and for the proud to show humility, and this has large implications. The question of the week in our Bible class comes from this: Is the accumulation of wealth a sin in itself, and if not, how can we be sure we are in control of our money for God, not in it for ourselves? James tells us that money is something to be shared communally, not to be withheld and hoarded. If we are making money for ourselves, James states that its corruption will destroy us. I would say the rest of the Bible agrees. After Moses freed the Israelites from Egypt, and the group met at Sinai, God ordered everyone to pool their resources for the creation of the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant. Those that disobeyed and kept treasure for themselves were ruthlessly dealt with; in that case the accumulation of wealth brought about instant destruction. Some time later, in the famous instant that doomed Saul, king of Israel, to be replaced by David, Saul kept the spoils of battle instead of destroying them as the Lord commanded. After this, Saul fell out of favor with God, and eventually he too would pay harshly for his greed and disobedience. In the gospels, Jesus talked often of the danger of accumulation, shaming the rich young ruler for not being able to surrender his wealth to the poor, and essentially living without wealth of any kind during his own life. In all these examples, whether hoarding riches was disobedience to God or simply a distraction from him, the result is the same, that you will, as James puts it, "weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you." Money can easily become a lifelong obsession and distraction from God, and that makes it an idol to him, but there is an straightforward solution, provided by Jesus. In the form of an argument: why let the temptation of hoarding wealth be an issue in the first place; if you give away your extra to the poor, you won't have any riches left to hoard.

"...so that we can give it away to the poor!"