December 14, 2024

James 2.1 (NIV)

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.

God respects character, not dress, or wealth, or earthly rank.*

When my boys were teen-agers, one of the mall stores they liked to shop in was one that I preferred to avoid - it was dark, the music was loud and unappealing, the merchandise leaned toward the Goth crowd, and the employees, with their piercings and tattoos, looked scary. As it turned out, they were some of the nicest and most helpful clerks of any store in the mall.

James is telling us not to make assumptions about anyone. He goes on in the following verses to talk about how we in the church tend to cater to the rich. I don’t think that our attitude toward the wealthy is his point here – it’s just an example. While some pander to the rich and powerful, others despise the wealthy - maybe because they have been oppressed by them or just because they are jealous. A poor person can be as evil as a rich one!

James isn’t telling us that we can’t have favorite friends. Jesus had an inner circle: Peter, James and John. John even calls himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Didn’t he love them all? What James condemns is prejudice and preferential treatment* - sizing up people based on what we can see.* In the game of favoritism, Jesus would have been a loser - he wasn’t wealthy or influential; he didn’t turn heads when he walked into the room. We would have looked right past him.

 

Oh, did I say he wasn’t wealthy, influential or good-looking? Look again.  Everything in the universe was his. All power in heaven and earth belonged to him. And his looks? Don’t be fooled. According to John’s vision in Revelation 1.16, “His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”  With all his riches, power, and beauty, Jesus’ treatment of others was never based on such superficial factors. Let us “treat everyone with equal respect”* just as Jesus did.

There was not one person who was reluctant to approach him for fear of being rejected.*