“Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning” (Leviticus 19:13).
TEXT — Leviticus 19:1-13
Message
The story is told of a notable business tycoon in the habit of hiring contractors to work for him. At the onset, he paid 80% of the contract sum, with a promise to pay up the balance on satisfactory completion. Since the profit margin was always less than 20%, the contractor usually would have to borrow additional funds to complete the work. On satisfactory completion, paying that balance became a problem. To assuage the contractor, more and more jobs were given to him. So the 20% kept accumulating into millions of unpaid debts. Attempts to get the money were usually rebuffed with the threat that the contractor should go to court. And since the judicial process was usually slow in that country and the “big man”, was “well connected”, the helpless contractors would leave the money with huge debts hanging on their necks.
The Lord commanded Israel to be holy because He is holy. And how should that holiness be seen? By honouring one’s parents who are God’s representatives on earth; by faithful observance of the Sabbath; by not worshipping idols; by bringing peace and fellowship offerings to God, by providing for the poor and having regard for the truth and by prompt payment of wages of hired workers.
In a world where “might is right”, the rights of the less privileged are often trampled upon by the rich who are getting richer and richer at the expense of the poor. For this, Apostle James, inspired by the Spirit of God, warned the greedy rich men, “Your riches are corrupted … Your gold and silver is cankered … behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries … are entered into the ears of the Lord…” (James 5:2-4). God hates when the poor is maltreated. He abhors injustice. Let everyone whom God has blessed use their wealth wisely.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
1 comment
Father,help me to obey your instructions in Jesus name
Father,help me to obey your instructions in Jesus name