No Spin Zone
September 22, 2024
James 2:2
Have you ever looked at the magazine racks when you’re in the stores . . . and everyone looks great! You wonder, how did these people become so beautiful. No lines, no bags, no blemishes. And they’re going to tell us how to look just as amazing as they do.
But, there’s a huge problem. Most, if not all of these pictures have been edited. They’ve been cleaned up and reworked. Modified or airbrushed to make the people look better.
For instance, years ago, Michelle Pfeiffer was on the cover of Esquire magazine. The cover said, “What Michelle Pfeiffer needs is absolutely nothing.” She looked perfect.
What they didn’t know is that Esquire hired a company to touch up her picture. This is all true. They charged Esquire magazine $1525 to touch up the picture. They cleaned up her complexion, softened her eye lines, softened her smile line; added color to her lips; trimmed her chin, removed the neckline; softened the line under her ear lobe; removed stray hair; adjusted the color AND they added hair on the top of her head. I’m all for adding hair on the top of the head. WOW!!
Michelle Pfeiffer didn’t need nothing. She needed a lot done to her to make her look perfect. It’s remarkable what they can do. For example - - - -
Look at this picture of Demi Moore. There’s a difference from one side to the other. Especially on her forehead. Her skin is absolutely flawless. You won’t find a blemish on this picture. Only after it’s been touched up.
How about this one of George Clooney. He doesn’t look real. No crows feet on the picture to the right.
Or this one of Justin Bieber. WOW! No more zits on his face.
Do you know who this guy is? It’s amazing how you can change the look so easily.
Last one. You said this didn’t look like me, so I made it a little more black and white.
It was these types of photos that caused model, Cindy Crawford to say, “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford.” She can’t of course, because the pictures are all touched up.
We’re in a series called THE NO SPIN ZONE!! As we look at the book of James in a way where James just gives it to us straight, no beating around the bush, no spin, no airbrushing and editing.
James peels away the facades we hide behind. James wants us to understand what it means to be an authentic follower of Jesus Christ. What does the Bible really say about living an authentic life for Jesus?
James is the guy to deliver that message. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy. When you enter into the book of James you’re entering the no-spin zone. Today, we’re looking at the fact that appearances can be deceiving. Just like in those photos. There’s more to a person than meets the eye.
James picks it up in 2:1, stating - - - -
2 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. - James 2:1
Now the word in many Bibles is favoritism or partiality. It comes from a Hebrew term that literally means to receive the face. The implication is that a person walks up to you and you receive their face as is. No judgements! Yet, we often make judgments based on receiving people at their face.
James is saying, “Receive their face.” Don’t judge a person based on what they look like. Don’t make judgments and show favoritism to them based on how expensive those clothes are or how not expensive they are.
To put it in a positive manner, treat people fairly. There’s no place for favoritism or partiality.
To make his point, James gives us a great illustration. He explains - - - -
2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,
OOH, right from the start!! He’s hitting a nerve.
Two different people walk in - - - - one’s dressed really nicely. You’re admiring his clothes, maybe thinking, this dude has money. James tells us he has a gold ring, a sign of wealth.
But the other guy, has an old shirt on, baggy pants, his hair isn’t combed well. It looks like he’s barely making it. These 2 guys come in at the same time.
What do we do? How do the greeters treat them? Does the pastor acknowledge only one of them or both of them. When we greet one another, are they greeted equally? James continues - - -
3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,”
while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”
4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Ouch! Whether in church or outside of church, we’re called to treat people fairly, with respect and kindness, irrespective of how they look on the outside. We are to receive their face.
The word James used for DISTINCTION literally means to go back and forth judging something.
You know - - - - - Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
Now in James’ culture this was very powerful because there was no middle class. 90% of the people were poor ----- 10% were wealthy. And the wealthy were really wealthy. And the poor were really poor.
It was basically upper class and lower class. Rich or poor. No upper middle or lower middle class.
So, the great temptation in the church, is that when people come in and they’re dressed well --- we want to acknowledge them. They would fawn over them and seek to honor them.
Then they would tell the poorer person, “You just sit over there, or sit at my feet.” Which was a huge insult.
But here’s the issue that was happening, James is very blunt with the people, chastising them - - - -
6 Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?
7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
Look at how the rich are treating the early believers, yet, they’re still catering to them. James tells them this is crazy, you’re acting like a bunch of hypocrites.
They’re dragging you into court, they’re calling you names, yet you’re playing up to them, hoping they’ll come and accept a place of honor.
But that’s not the way to do church. That’s not how you receive someone’s face. You must use wisdom and discernment when dealing with them.
James says, the church is different. In the church we treat people fairly.
That’s the heart of God. In Leviticus 19:15, in the O T - - - -
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. - Leviticus 19:15
Treat people fairly. It applies to our dress, it applies to our income, it applies to race, to gender – it applies in the courts, do it on all fronts. Treat people fairly.
We forget, we are all created in His image. The Bible says this in Deuteronomy 10:17 - - - -
17 For the Lord your God is God of Gods and Lord of Lords. The great God, mighty and awesome who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. - Deuteronomy 10:17
He shows no partiality and by the way, you can’t bribe Him either. That’s who God is. We’re supposed to be like God in in the way we treat other people.
I read about a psychology term, called Thin Slicing. Malcom Gladwell wrote about it in his book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. He wrote - - - -
Thin-slicing is our ability to use limited information from our narrow experience to come to a conclusion.
He suggests those spontaneous decisions are often as good as — or even better than — carefully planned and considered ones.
Sometimes that’s true. But often times don’t we make quick, wrong decisions about people based on appearance or color, or hairstyle, or it’s their handshake, or tats or piercings or whatever it might be.
We can think of thin-slicing as our first gut reaction. When a person walks up to us we thin slice them. We put them in a category or we have immediate thoughts that come to mind about that individual.
For example, Gladwell wrote about CEO’s in Fortune 500 companies. 58% are over 6' tall. But only 14% of the population is over 6'. The average employee who is over 6' tall makes on average, $5,525 more per year than the guy who is 5'5".
I don’t think people who make these decisions consciously think this through. It mostly happens at a subconscious level. But it’s a distinction we make, nonetheless.
It’s a call for us to prayerfully ask God, “Do I make decisions based on a person’s appearance? Do I treat people differently based on those split second decisions?”
Treat people fairly and you’ll have more success in your life and in your career if you do that. I really do believe that. If you practice that, you will be blessed.
This is really about being kind. It’s practicing kindness. Remember, kindness is an action. Kindness takes energy and movement.
We’re called to be kind and friendly to one another. Whoever walks in these doors is to be treated the same. And wherever we go, we are to treat people with respect and kindness.
No matter what race you are,
No matter what religion you’ve practiced in the past,
No matter what your perspective is,
No matter what you wear or your hairstyle,
That’s how God is. He says, “Whoever you are, come!”
If you are broken, come.
If you are hurting, come.
If you need help, come.
If your life isn’t all together, join the crowd . . . come.
That’s part of the power of the church when it’s healthy. We come here, we come together with all of our craziness, hurts, wounds, victories, questions and we worship God together.
Nobody is to be excluded and nobody is to be looked down upon for any reason. In part, because we’re all in the same boat. We’ve all got our blemishes that haven’t been airbrushed
James then tells us (James 2:8) - - - -
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
Love one another. To do that, we have to treat others like we would like to be treated. Nobody wants to be dumped on. Nobody wants to be put down. Nobody wants to be rejected. We can say we don’t care, but I believe we do. Deep down, we want to be accepted.
The golden rule works in our lives, if we’re willing to put in the effort. What would happen if we began to live that out in our families, schools, work places?
Let me give you an example - - - -
A woman was at the store and about to pay for her groceries, when she pulled out the TV remote control from her purse and set it down on the counter. The cashier asked her why she had that with her. She explained, “my husband wouldn’t come shopping with me, so I took it. He’ll have no idea what to do!”
That’s not the golden rule! Just an example!!
What would happen if we would start living the Golden Rule out in our lives? Love one another, do unto one another . . .
Yet, we all know some folks who are just a bit tougher to love . . . . you know what I mean? But through God’s love of me
. . . the recognition, the belief, that God loves me. Even with all of my issues, God loves me and sent His Son to die for me.
Really, it leads me to give thanks for God. I don’t look at myself as a cruddy piece of rotten meat that God’s redeemed, which is true . . .
. . . I look at myself as holy, dearly loved and embraced by the God of all creation. And because of that I can go into the world and love others. I can pass on God’s love, because God 1st loved me.
I can love God with everything I have - - - -
my heart, soul, mind and body, because of who God is!
As I love God and experience His love, I can now love my neighbor in the name of Jesus, because I’ve accepted God’s love. That’s the opportunity for us day by day. Love others because God loves me.
Let me close with this story I read about - - -
There was a priest named Father Damien who in the 1860's became a missionary on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai. He helped build up a leper colony, not as a place to die, but a place to live.
People would go there to die. It was a violent place, until Father Damian showed up. He loved these people that no one else would love. He taught them how to live.
He built buildings, schools, choirs, and bands. He built 2,000 coffins so when they died, they could be buried with dignity.
He transformed this leper colony. But, he wasn’t very careful. He didn’t always wash his hands after he bandaged their wounds. Sometimes he would share his pipe. And he would dip his hands in the same vats of food they did.
When he preached, he would begin his message with, “We brethren.”
Then one day he was pouring hot water and he poured part of it over his hand. He noticed that he didn’t feel the heat. It was a classic sign of leprosy.
As the time passed, he showed more and more signs of leprosy. One day, he stood up to preach, and he didn’t begin his message with, “We Brethren.” He began his message with, “We Lepers.” He loved them so much that he became one of them.
He died in 1889, and in a final letter to his brother, he wrote, "I am gently going to my grave. It is the will of God, and I thank Him very much for letting me die of the same disease and in the same way as my lepers. I am very satisfied and very happy."
WOW! He was willing to go to the grave in the name of love for these people, who most others would have rejected.
It’s like God’s love for us. Here is God, who is all powerful and all mighty and yet He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into our world to take on the sins of the world in His death.
He loved us so much that He became one of us. He touched the sick, the lepers, the sinners, the broken. Nobody was beneath Him. They were all on the same level.
Jesus loved us, and our call is not to judge, but to love one another.
Jesus can heal our pain and brokenness. He can heal it. He offers us grace and forgiveness.
Know that God loves you. He loves you so much that He came and lived among us. He became one of us to buy us back to God. That’s who He is. This morning He wants to do a great work in your life.
The first step is to surrender your heart to Him. The first step is to say, “God I believe in You. I’ve sinned and made a mess of some things that I have done in my life. I pray for Your forgiveness and for Your help.”
He promises that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and He will forgive us.
With that in mind, go out into the NO SPIN ZONE, and show love, His love, no judging, no distinctions, no favoritism. Just the love of Jesus!
