Rich Oppressor! Who? Me?

Thinking again about God's amazing sense of justice.  It turns out he takes injustice (in this case the oppression of the poor by the rich) very seriously. "Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you."  James ch 5 vv1-6.

 So lets be honest now - if you're sitting with a PC in front of you (as I am) are slightly over weight (as I am) have a home filled with lovely things (as I do) then aren't you rich?  Where did these things come from?  did the person who built my laptop have the same quality of life as I do?  Do they habitually over eat and throw food away because they've never had to worry about where the next meal will come from? 

I can't get away from this - I'm guilty!  Not some false, middle-class guilt, but a genuine guilt that is becoming of someone who professes Christ as Lord and yet dishonors him so freely.  Our whole consumer society is built upon the oppression of those poorer than ourselves.  So how can I, in Christ's name, resist this worldly pattern and end my own selfishness?  I need God's help to kill the greed in my heart that leads to caring more about what I have than what others need.

I know I'm forgiven and how that thrills me, yet I must change...I long for change...