“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.“ (James 2:1, NIV)
One of the problems with the church in the first century (and still today) is prejudice. James begins chapter two with a clear injunction against it, reminding Christians that it is incompatible with the Christian faith.
And just to make sure we won’t take his teaching and leave it in the hypothetical/theoretical realm (hearers and not doers), he gives a vivid example. An obviously wealthy man comes into church and is treated with great honor, while an obviously impoverished man comes in and is shown disrespect. James says this is immoral.
The tendency we have of reaching snap conclusions about people based on preconceived ideas has never been more evident…it’s in the news daily. James tells us it is a sin and will be judged by God (we’ll discuss why on Sunday). But his strongest argument against prejudice is that it breaks the “royal law” – love your neighbor as yourself.
Don’t like it when others judge you unfairly? Then don’t do it to them. It reminds me of something Peter Marshall once wrote:
We have the nicest garbage man.
He empties out our garbage can.
He’s just as nice as he can be.
He always stops to talk to me.
My mother doesn’t like his smell.
But mother doesn’t know him well.
Join us Sunday as we get rid of pre-judgment and replace it with true judgment.
