“Playing Favorites at Church”
James 2:1-12
Whether you realize it or not all of us have a list of certain people we like to be with and if were honest we have a list of people we don’t like to be with. There are desirable people and there are undesirable people.
• Some of us would rather spend time with educated people so we look down on those who don’t have a strong academic background.
• Some have certain race or ethnic groups they don’t want to associate with
• some would rather be with young people so they don’t make time for the elderly
Most of us want to be around people who are like us.... who we agree with on everything. As believers in Christ, there are many of us who make the decision not to hang out with unbelievers. The longer we know the Lord, the fewer unbelievers we know. This was a difficulty that the early church was dealing with at the time that James wrote this letter. James wrote this letter around 60 A.D. and it was a picture of the church at that time…but unfortunately it is also a picture of the church today.
James 2:1. James addresses the listener as my brothers. He is reminding us that this letter is written to the family. He is speaking to believers and the issue here is how we treat people who are different from us. So he gives us some words to live by.
1. Do not show favoritism in the church. The Bible says in Acts 10:34, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but he accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Galatians 3:28 says there is neither Jew nor Greek, salve nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ. But favoritism continues to show up in the church today. It’s one of those things that really hasn’t changed since these words were written down 2000 years ago. Too many of us favor people based on their abilities.
• If they teach, we think they’re worth more in the church
• if they give, we think they are more valuable to the church
• if they are a leader we think they are more valuable
• if they are wealthy, we often treat them with more respect
The truth is that one is not better than the other; one is not more valuable than the other. In God’s eyes, they are the same and should be in ours as well. So James offers a graphic illustration here of the problem. Two men come into a meeting/synagogue-one is very nicely dressed with nice jewelry. The other is not. The other one is poor and has shabby clothes. And so there is a huge contrast between the two. A man, apparently an usher in the church sees the two men and the rich man was offered a better seat. What happened here is like this-the wealthy man gets a chair, has a nice view and the other man is basically told “if you must sit down, sit on the floor by my feet.” So the rich man is respected and the poor man is rejected.
The symbol used for justice by the courts is a woman who is blindfolded holding scales in her hand. We use this symbol to say that justice is blind. The idea that If you cannot see the two individuals then you treat them the same. This is what it means when the Bible says that God is no respecter of persons. It simply means that with God there are no favorites. God shows no favoritism. Dr. Billy Graham puts it this way. “God has no grandchildren.” Grandchildren can get spoiled. They can get special treatment. James says that it’s a problem when we treat one person this way in the church and another one a different way. He says, “do not show favoritism.”
Look at verses 5-7. James has clearly said here, favoritism is wrong. Here are three reasons.
1. Favoritism is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches about God’s love and grace. Paul was addressing the church in Corinth and they were having a similar struggle. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (TLB) 26 Notice among yourselves, dear brothers, that few of you who follow Christ have big names or power or wealth. 27 Instead, God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great. 28 He has chosen a plan despised by the world, counted as nothing at all, and used it to bring down to nothing those the world considers great, 29 so that no one anywhere can ever brag in the presence of God.
God’s method of choosing has always been based on grace. Not based on anything we are, have or ever will have. Grace is unmerited favor. God gives it freely to all who will receive it. We struggle with that and the reason is simple. In the history of mankind we have yet to learn to love others the way God loves them. We have not yet learned to treat others the way God treats them.
2. Favoritism is wrong because we often end up helping the wrong person. Verses 6-7. It is often based on wealth. James makes his point here by asking a series of three questions. 1. Who is exploiting you? 2. Who is dragging you into court? 3. Who is blaspheming the name of Christ? The answer to all three questions is the same. It is the unbelieving rich.
3. Favoritism is wrong because the Bible says so. Verses 8-11. We live in a society today where everything is changing. I have begun to understand a statement my father-in-law used to make on a regular basis. He would say this is not my world anymore. It has changed too much and I don’t recognize it anymore. I have started feeling that way. Just read the headlines from the past month. In Tunisia, while at is a resort on vacation harming no one a gunman walked onto the beach and killed 27 people this week. The Supreme Court announced that same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states. In South Carolina a gunman walked in sat down in a Bible study group and killed nine people including the pastor. Why? They were all black. This is not the world I grew up in.
Many of these crimes being committed are hate crimes. They are based on favoring one race over another. They are based on favoritism, the very thing this passage condemns. James says if you show partiality, you commit sin.
Verses 12-13. The real test of whether our faith is real is how we treat other people. And we are reminded here that we will be judged in at least three ways. (1) We will be judged by our words. All of us have the potential to have a profound effect on those around us by what we have to say. We can literally change someone and their behavior through words of encouragement. (2) We will be judged by our deeds. James tells us it is a sin to show favoritism. (3) We will be judged by how much mercy we show toward others. This is what I want you to do. I want you to think about who you are closest to in this church family. Who are the people you hang out with-you fellowship with. Now ask yourself, how long has it been since you reached out to include someone new in your circle? What are you doing to make new people feel included?
Let me say something here. I have read countless numbers of books through the years on what it takes to grow a church. I know that it takes strong leadership. I know that it takes solid preaching. It takes great music. But in the end, the biggest factor is relationships. How we treat people. For the most part churches grow through two things friendship and kinship. Those that we are friends with and those that we are related to... That is who is generally attracted to our church. It’s about relationships it’s how we treat God’s people. That’s what matters more than anything.
I once heard a story about a young college student named Bill. Bill had wild hair, spiked with vivid colors. Bill always wore a T-shirt with holes in it, blue jeans and usually was barefoot. He was actually a brilliant young man and had become a Christian while attending college. He attended a Christian organization on campus, but he also wanted to find a church. Across the street from his college was a conservative, very traditional church. Everyone dressed up, lots of suits and nice dresses. One Sunday Bill decided to visit that church. He walked into the sanctuary with no shoes, jeans and a T-shirt, and wild hair. The service had already started, so Bill walked down the aisle looking for a seat. But the church was packed, and he could not find a seat anywhere. By now, people were uncomfortable, but no one said anything. Bill got closer to the front of the church. When he realized there were no seats left, not knowing what else to do, he just sat down in the aisle. Now this was perfectly acceptable behavior at his college Bible study but this was one church where this had never happened before. You could feel the tension everywhere. The preacher didn't know what to do so he just stood there for a moment in silence. About that time, an elderly man, one of the oldest members of that church, known by everyone slowly made his way down the aisle toward Bill. The man was in his eighties, wore a three-piece suit. He was a godly man, very dignified, but very traditional and very conservative. As he started walking toward this boy, everyone was saying to themselves—you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid with not dressed right for church, no shoes, wild hair sitting on the church floor? The old man walked with a cane, so it took a long time for him to reach the boy. The church was utterly silent except for the clicking of the old man's cane. All eyes were focused on him. Finally, the old man reached the boy. He paused a moment, then dropped his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, the old man lowered himself and sat down next to the boy. He shook the boy's hand and welcomed him to the church.
When the minister gained control of himself, he said, “What I’m about to preach, you will probably never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget.” Your life is the best sermon that can ever be preached.
