James 4:11

When a man speaks against his brother he is practically condemning the Law of Love, and thus arrogating to himself the office of a judge. In criticising that Law he is virtually criticising the divine Lawgiver.

13-C. James 5:6. Stern denunciation of the presumption and tyranny of the rich. From the Old and NT. it may be gathered that, on the whole, wealth was misused by the Jews, and that therefore the 'mammon of unrighteousness' was an occasion of sin and a terrible temptation. St. James's teaching about wealth is put in a brief, uncompromising form, without limitations or exceptions. The possession of riches is regarded as a danger. But that a Christian might possess wealth, if only he recognised that he was a steward of it (Luke 16:1), is clear from passages like 1 Timothy 6:17. Zac-chæus (Luke 19:1) and Joseph of Arimathæa (Matthew 27:57) were both rich, and both disciples.