On Favoritism

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? (James 2.1 NLT). So simple and direct. If we are followers of Christ, we should not show favoritism to the rich over the poor, or to the poor over the rich; to businessmen over the working-class or the working class over businessmen, etc. Every person is equally as valuable as the next because they are a person. I suspect that sometimes it is a real struggle not to do this and we need to check our hearts and actions so that we don't do it. We honor God when we treat every person as God created them: equal.

No Distinctions!

In James 2.3,4, this morning. James in essence says, In the house of God and with the people of God, there should be no distinctions. It is a radical difference from the world that they live in where people who were wealthy and/or a part of high society were given the place of honor wherever they went. They were more equal than the poor. The Old Testament condemns this treatment of the poor again and again, and James (along with other NT authors) carries this condemnation into the Church Age. There is no place for showing favoritism in the Christian faith, based on wealth or position or skin color or nationality. No distinctions!