Monthly Archives: January 2026

James and Oppression 4: Hear the Cries

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In this four-part series on the book of James from the Bible I have sought to look into how the brother of Jesus handles the evil of abusive behavior and motives.

This final installment looks at how James wraps up his theme. It is very helpful in providing the prescription for leaders seeking to turn from abusiveness.

What Is the Leader to Do?

James is speaking to all of us and we should all take note. We have all been here. We are not just victims of vicious speech and behavior from bosses. We are the man who has hurt others and sought after self-indulgence.

However, once again, this blog is about leadership, so I want to particularly focus on toxic leadership from James’ perspective.

James says the prescription for good leadership is “humble yourself.”

Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. [James 4:9-12]

The number one solution to toxic leadership (as it is for all abuse) is humility.

Clothed in Humility

When a survivor of domestic violence determines that her husband has truly turned from his abusiveness, she describes his genuine sense of the wrong he has committed against her. There can be no confidence in his repentance until he has truly humbled himself and recognized his deep wrongfulness.

So too, it is to humility the toxic leader must turn. He must become clothed in that humility “before the Lord” as James says.

And it is not just a mental, cognitive turning in humility—it is a deep groaning and grief over personal arrogance.

Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

James is pleading; he is imploring leaders to dig deep—to allow the failure to wash over them.

And it is a genuine humility, not a sociopathic manipulative humility. The abusive leader must not be seeking to regain control of a situation in which he has lost dominance.

Fraud

James ends his book with similar thematic ideas to sections throughout the book; he makes one last call to refrain from oppressing others.

You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. [James 5:5-6]

The toxic leader, as explained in another blog, is all about self-indulgence.

Just before this verse James says,

Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

The toxic leader in his indulgence is stealing from his workers.

Just the law in the ancient near East provided principles of which to apply to divergent circumstances, so we need to look at James’ principle here.

Noted by the LORD

There are two things happening here specifically: The boss is withholding what is due his employees (not paying wages) and the cries from those who are oppressed are heard and noted by the Lord.

In the immediate context of these verses James is speaking firstly to the leader, condemning his “self-indulgence.” This leads the leader to take advantage of and crush (oppress in Bible terms) those under his power. He has all the power over his employees and is taking advantage to get what he wants for his own pleasure as James says in 4:2.

And secondly, James is saying the LORD hates it. When the LORD heard the cries of the Israelites when they were oppressed by the Egyptians (under oppressive slavery), the LORD brought miraculous judgment upon the Egyptians in the form of the ten plagues that nearly destroyed their country. All because of a toxic leader at the helm of the nation.

Without knowing the mind of James, we can be nearly assured that he is hearkening back to this well-known Jewish story here in his writing.

What Are the Principles?

So what are the principles we can draw from this?

First of all, James is not only talking to farmers, though he specifically is using that particular industry from that agrarian society of the first Century. If he were focused on farming, the vast majority of God’s church would have nothing to learn from this.

Again, we can expect the “laws” laid down in Scripture are primarily understood to be taken as principles to apply to our own circumstances that may be a little or a lot different than that described in Scripture.

The principle James is providing—I would suggest—is that those who have power over others must forgo self-indulgence and treat those under their power with fairness, mercy, and grace. That is the witness of Scripture for all (Ephesians 4:25-32; 5:21; Colossians 3:12; Galatians 5:22), and more so for those who have such a huge impact on the lives of others such as leaders—another principle in Scripture.

The Result

The result for refusing to follow the principle laid forth by James can only be described as catastrophic.

James says that which the leader indulges in—described as “gold and silver” by James—will be corroded. The value placed in what the toxic one is desiring will disappear. In Isaiah the LORD warns that all that silver and gold His people pursue to indulge their desires will provide no means of escape from the LORD’s wrath (Ezekiel 7:19).

God hears the cries. If you are mistreating those under your authority and power, be warned. There can be no winning against the LORD of the heavens and earth.

James says to the oppressor, “[Your subordinate] does not resist you.”

But, be assured, God does.

James and Oppression 3: Concupiscence

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Concupiscence. Wow, that’s a big word, eh?

In the American church we have a determined focus on desires for wrongful sex, but James—the writer of the book by that name in the New Testament—has a distinctively different focus: broken relationships. He zeros in on fights of which there are many between a toxic leader and his/her subordinates.

James uses the word ἐπιθυμία (epithymia) in chapter one of his letter to the church. It means “a longing (especially for what is forbidden): — concupiscence, desire, lust (after).”1

James is noting that we have innate desires that come from the fall of man into sin. We are born with these desires. And it is those desires that tempt us to act in sinful ways—to turn away from God and pursue those wrongful desires.

What you may find interesting is that James only once mentions sexual sin (James 2:11) where he explains that keeping your nose clean in one area of sin, but not another, does not make a person righteous. His example is in refusing to commit adultery while murdering someone—which in Jesus’ words is the same as being unjustifiably angry at someone (Matthew 5:22).

But falling in one point, he says, is tantamount to falling in all points.

But that is it for sexual sin in James’ writing. James’ focus is on relationships and particularly what comes out of our mouths. Why do the words of the toxic leader tear down and destroy?

Desires

James says:

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)

We would understand these “desires” to be lusts after power, wealth, sex, and all kinds of things that take the place of God in our lives—in essence, idols.

From this statement early in his letter to the churches, James builds a understanding of the evils we have been writing about in this series of blogs. He makes clear that indeed, they must be fought—by the Holy Spirit—in our lives and that those desires are deep within us.

So, later in chapter four, James writes,

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.

In James 4:1 he speaks generally of “disputes” and “controversy” among God’s people. And gives the reason why they erupt: you desire and do not have. This applies to all of us, but this blog is about toxic leadership.

Adoration, Control and Self-Satisfaction

So, what does a toxic leader desire and not get?

Though we cannot know the heart of another person, by their behavior it appears that the toxic leader desires adoration, control, and/or self-satisfaction.

And the toxic leader believes he/she is entitled to these things.

It is not that he needs to gain the respect of others through godly behavior and genuine love for others; it is that he is entitled to these self-centered pleasures by his very nature. Rather than behaving in kind and respectful ways to his subordinates with the desire to gain these self-serving “needs”, the toxic leader often authoritatively controls them, often with harsh words and threats.

The toxic leader thinks this is the sure way of receiving adoration, control, and self-satisfaction.

Threats and Isolation

Those threats can take the form of firings or isolation (among other things). The threat of the loss of job is easily identified. The threat may be direct or implied.

However, isolation can be much more hidden.

As Padilla notes,

“Destructive leaders describe dissidents and rivals in terms designed to devalue and isolate them while promoting in-group solidarity—e.g., Hitler’s portrayal of Jews as unsanitary (Epstein, 2002) or Castro’s description of dissidents as immoral.” 2

Here are some possible actions by toxic leaders to isolate subordinates who don’t fall in line.

  • The leader may make clear through veiled threats to others that if fellow workers back up the target of his abuse, they will face the same ostracization the target has. The leader may mock them or make them seem “toxic” to their peers.
  • The leader may give the more important projects to others, leaving the target out in the cold.
  • The leader may socialize with others while obviously leaving targets off his social calendar.
  • The leader may refuse to introduce his target to important colleagues, managers, or clients.
  • The leader may keep the target “out of the loop.” He may do so by neglecting to include them in key meetings, emails, or conference calls. 3

James goes on in verse two to plead with those who are fighting and quarreling because they don’t get what they want:

You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

He begins by simply suggesting, “Just ask for it!” But that is not all.

Motives

Why do you want these things? James challenges, “[B]ecause you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

James say your motives stink.

The toxic leader has unrequited desires and it is because he/she is wrong in desiring them. He wants to be the center. He wants to be glorified. He wants to have while others do not.

This brings to mind the story of Narcissus—the namesake of the Narcissistic personality disorder—who saw his reflection in the water, fell in love with himself, yet was unable to receive any love in return from the reflection.

So, in verse nine James says,

Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Humble yourself, toxic leader.

Mourn and weep. Fall to your knees before the Lord.

Unfortunately, this is just too much for most toxic leaders. Though I have read one toxic leader’s own account of turning from his abusive leadership,4 it is a rare thing for these leaders to humble themselves, recognizing their destructive leadership.

But we continue to call leaders, including ourselves, to a heart that seeks to serve subordinates and not ourselves. To mourn and weep when we hurt and isolate others under our care. To turn away from those innate desires that wage a war against good leadership.

NOTES

  1. Strong’s Concordance. ↩︎
  2. Padilla, Art, Robert Hogan, and Robert B. Kaiser. “The Toxic Triangle: Destructive Leaders, Susceptible Followers, and Conducive Environments.” The Leadership Quarterly 18 (June 2007): 176–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.03.001, p. 181.
    ↩︎
  3. Fontes Ph.D., Lisa Aronson. “Workplace Coercive Control: More than a ‘Bad Boss’ | Psychology Today.” Psychology Today, August 11, 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/invisible-chains/201908/workplace-coercive-control-more-than-a-bad-boss.
    ↩︎
  4. Freytag, Bob (2025), ‘My Journey from Toxic Leadership to Servant Leadership’, Blanchard, 20 January, https://resources.blanchard.com/blanchard-leaderchat/my-journey-from-toxic-leadership-to-servant-leadership, accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
    ↩︎

James and Oppression 2: The Center of Toxic Leadership

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From where does oppressive behavior come?

In this second look at the book of James, we will consider the center of toxic leadership. As was noted in part one of this series, much teaching in leadership circles looks at the outward behavior of the leader as the standard.

I have had the pleasure and privilege of writing alongside academic researchers in the field of toxic leadership—not because I am particularly an academic mind you—and have noticed this particular bent. I understand it and am not opposed to what is being written. Just as the US military takes a decidedly behavioral perspective in its training and discipline (as a friend told me), so too I know in the business world it is more feasible to look at the outward actions of leaders. There is the view that as long as you keep your toxins inside, you are golden as a leader.

However, as a Christian writing mostly to those confronted by toxic leadership in Christian organizations—including the church—I am concerned about leaders who may get a free pass because their toxins are covered up—at least for a time.

And that is a very important point; I believe toxic leadership will [nearly] always raise its ugly head at some point if the leader has a heart that is bent that way.

And so, this blog is looking at what James says about the heart. Because it is getting to the beast within that is going to truly and actually impact the toxic leader’s behavior and help in bringing accountability.

James says in 3:13:

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Notice the interesting interplay here. James first points to the heart: “wise and understanding”. Those are heart issues—the inner man. What does he think and feel. Is he “wise and understanding?”

Then he goes on to note that behavior should come from wisdom and understanding. His good conduct will show whether he is wise or not. His behavior will show what is in his heart.

Then James goes on to explain more:

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

When toxic leaders are described, it is usually with terms like arrogance, liar, entitled, controlling, harsh, and overly demanding.

James goes so far as to say that these heart attitudes—jealousy, selfish ambition—are demonic. That is strong stuff. And not only that, these attitudes give rise to “disorder and every vile practice.”

It comes from the inner man.

If the thinking, emotions, and will are evil then the behavior will be. It may be controlled sometimes out of necessity to keep the job or wife or the respect of others. But the evil will in the end get the best of the most self-controlled of leaders and there will be disorder and vile practices.

Where does oppressive behavior come from? It comes from the heart of man.

Therefore all attempts at coaching or counseling must be directed to the heart of man. It is not enough to give him a nicer suit or less angry words. You can’t dress him up from the outside.

Get to his heart.

James and Oppression 1: Murderous Words

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The book of James in the Bible is full of teaching on the abusive heart.

Though it speaks generally to all people, it also has specific value for leaders—those with formal or informal power over others.

After providing a beautiful and life-changing discussion on how to persevere under trials, James begins to delve into the heart of oppressive behavior. The warning shot comes in verse 19 of the first chapter:

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

“Angry” is often a descriptive term for those who are abusive of others. Though anger is not normally at the heart of the abusive leader’s problem—rather entitlement and control—it is a means and method for achieving these desires of the abuser.

This one sentence written by James, the brother of Jesus Christ, is antithetical to anger.

Listen.

Wait.

Be right.

A leader who fails to listen to others is not producing “the righteousness of God.” He has his own views, rights, and privileges in mind, not the good of others or the organization he serves. Listening to others implies truly hearing what they have to say and giving them the respect they deserve as God’s image bearers.

This can be applied as well to the leader who seemingly listens to and yet ignores his subordinates. The term “hear” means “to attend to, consider what is or has been said.” Again, is he giving honor to those who serve at his behest? Hearing means truly listening . . . no just acting like it.

Hypocrisy

James goes on in this same passage to challenge those who are wrapped up in a “Christiany” image but are in fact hypocrites. They put on an act of being Christian by spouting biblical sounding speeches, but in fact do not actually live those same words in their daily lives and leadership:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. [James 1:22-24]

These “Christian” leaders appear to hear the words of God but immediately turn away from them in their daily life. They are surrounded by the Word of God—in the organization masthead, organization chapels, staff meetings, church partnering—but it is all just window-dressing. Often the leader is more concerned about funding the organization than he is about following Christ “whether he eats or drinks, or whatever he does.”

So, he speaks a good line that sounds Christian for all the donors and likely the staff, but his heart is really far from it.

Out of the Mouth

In verse 26, James brings the tongue back into the discussion:

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James takes a hard stance against the evil that comes out of the mouth. It comes back over and over again.

Much of our “behavior” —outward actions—is how we speak to and about others. Just as James says, our tongues are fires (James 3:5), ready to accomplish our scorched earth policies.

Does the leader think of himself, and even defend himself as a good Christian? Does he see himself as religious—after all, he runs a Christian organization or goes to church regularly, maybe even is a Sunday school teacher, or fills the pulpit periodically.

James says, if he “does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.“

In chapter three James goes on with further criticism of those who use the tongue abusively:

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

Deadly Poison

“Deadly poison.” Strong words. James shows the incomprehensibility of those who claim to love Christ and yet “curse” others. The Greek term καταράομαι (curse) means to “curse, doom, imprecate evil upon” someone else.

As poison it hurts and kills. Though sticks and stones can break our bones, cursing others is murderous. It destroys the emotional and spiritual health of others. It often destroys other’s relationship with the Lord having come from a “Christian” leader.

James, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gets the harm abusive words cause.

The hypocrisy of those who lead a Christian organizations—or any other organization for that matter—claiming to be a follower of Christ and yet behaving with a pattern of abusive language is beyond comprehension.

Appropriately, James has the strongest words for those who tear down others with their words—words that should give life and hope to others.

Do you take seriously the words that come from your mouth. Do you stop. Listen. And then respectfully hear the words of those under your formal or informal authority? If you continually justify yourself, you need to delve deeper into your heart.

Abusive leadership is a pattern of behavior that tears down others and it is so often with words—even words that sound Christian.

The Heart of Leadership: Seeing Subordinates as Souls

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I have always considered the language of “soul” this or that as a little weird. I understand the biblical language of “soul”, but always have seen the use of the term as a bit new-agey. However, biblically this is the meaning:

ψυχή psychē. . . the (human) soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids offered it by God it can attain its highest end and secure eternal blessedness, the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life; the soul as an essence which differs from the body and is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body). [Strong’s Concordance]

It is not an easy concept. However, it is helpful in recognizing the dichotomy of man; men/women are made up of the physical and spirit. “This concept divides humanity into the physical self, subject to decay, and the spiritual self, capable of renewal.“1  

A passage in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians caught my attention. In 2 Corinthians 5:16 Paul says,

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.”

Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church. He was respected, even revered—one passage related that he was regarded as a “god” by the people in one instance (Acts 14:12). Be rest assured he rejected their worship emphatically.

In this one sentence from 2 Corinthians 5:16 I believe we can learn a valuable lesson in leadership:

Leaders should view their subordinates as immortal souls and that perspective should mold their treatment of them.

Flesh can mean a variety of things but he uses the term in this passage for “mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God.” Mind you, he does not use “flesh” in this instance for “physical” man, rather for “sinfulness”.

If we see an individual simply “in the flesh” we see brokenness and rejection of the higher order of God’s rule in the world. Rather we should look at others as those whom God influences; we should see a soul as defined before. This does not mean we fail to distinguish the brokenness of man because of his sin, but we rather take a more optimistic view of God’s working in man.

God, in His sovereign work in this world, influences every person. He is Ruler of heaven and earth and does not stand far off but is rather always involved.2 There are those who welcome and take joy in that “influence” and those who refuse to acknowledge it and reject this grace.

 Seeing as Soul

What I would suggest is that the leader, in seeing his or her subordinates as souls, should see them as those of whom God is working in and through . . . no matter the subordinate’s personal reception of Jesus’ grace. Much as Paul addresses the pagans in Athens in Acts 17:26-28 

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

This should mold how leaders interact with those under their authority—and their expectations for them.

  • Those who are influenced by the Lord will often fail. They will sin—go against God’s desires—or simply make technical mistakes in their jobs. Every one of us does so no matter the level of sanctification and skill level. Humbly recognizing this, the leader can take an active role in encouraging godliness—loving neighbor—and skill development. He/she should seek the subordinate’s growth as a person and worker.
  • Every man and woman has been given the task by the Lord—whether they know it or not—to take an active part in making the world better. It is called the “dominion mandate” in theological terms. It is not a harsh, authoritarian dominion of which we often think. It is a loving, building, encouraging, gracious development of good in the world. It means using our God-given skills and talents to build good products that help people. It is in making things of beauty. It is serving our neighbor as we do ourselves.
  • And finally, the leader should him/herself model Christ’s love for his/her employees. This is both in word and action. But, that modeling needs to be sincere—it must come from the heart. He/she must truly love his subordinates.

Getting the Heart

As noted in that last bullet point: it must come from the heart.

One thing sorely lacking—though not absent—in secular research regarding leadership is a view to the motives of leaders. It is an understandable oversight in that the focus in leadership training is on what the leader does; what can be visibly perceived of that leadership. There is a sense that the actions of man—or woman—can be more readily changed than the motives, or what I would call, the heart—the whole inner working of man including cognition and emotive.

However, biblically it is from the heart that comes these behaviors. Those behaviors are not caused by outward influence but by the heart. So, if you want to fix behaviors, you need to the get to the “heart”. Yes, others—including followers—can encourage the actions of the leader whether for good or evil. But it is in the heart of the leader where actions finds their root.

Consider these passages:

Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life. [Proverbs 4:23 (ESV)]
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. [Matthew 12:34-35 (ESV)]
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. [Matthew 15:18-20 (ESV)]

When a toxic leader tears down a subordinate he/she is simply speaking from his heart.

When a toxic leader manipulates with sweet sounding words he/she is simply speaking from the heart.

When a toxic leader takes all the credit for the work of his subordinates he/she is simply acting from his/her heart.

When the toxic leader steals from the organization, he/she is simply working out his/her heart.

Therefore, we must change the heart of leadership.

There must be heart change. Leaders must recognize and believe their subordinates are souls—immortal beings who are created and influenced by the God of the universe. Truly getting this can make all the difference in what our leadership looks like.

Notes

  1. https://sljinstitute.net/systematic-theology/anthropology/man-in-his-nature-part-i/ ↩︎
  2. Acts 17:22-28 ↩︎