I vividly remember talking with another pastor one day who had been given a very impressive appointment to one of the largest churches in our conference. As he was talking to me and a couple of other pastors, he was explaining how different this church was from his previous experiences. Evidently, there was a group of wealthy benefactors of the church who kept the church afloat financially. They also ran the show — whatever they said was pretty much law in the church. I can still see this man shaking his head and saying, “The first thing I have to do when I get there is to wine and dine a bunch of people. I really have to get on their good side.” Without saying anything, I was shocked that he would even consider such a thing. I believe it would have been God’s will for that pastor to break up that kind of cartel in the church rather than cater to it — even if it meant that the church would suffer financially or lose members.
But even in smaller churches we sometimes cater to those we think are the major givers of the church, or show partiality in other ways. Sometimes churches cater to those who have longevity in the church — they and their families have been active members of the church for many years. At other times we may cater to the new members, or those we hope will become new members and bring new life into the church. Sometimes we cater to those we consider to be good workers in the church. At other times we may cater to those who can no longer work. Sometimes we cater to those who have standing in the community, or some other type of notoriety. Sometimes we cater to those who have an impressive appearance. Sometimes we cater to those who complain the loudest. At other times we cater to our friends or those who think like us. But all of this is contrary to what the Scripture is telling us today. In fact, James says, “But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (James 2:9).
So here is the first point that the Scripture makes clear: Favoritism is a serious mistake, because it is a sin. The Old Testament is especially strong on this. The poor, the aliens, the widows and orphans were particularly protected by the law. The Bible says, “God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11). And if our lives are to model the character of God we are not to show favoritism either. Favoritism is not just a little thing that can be passed over in the church, it is a serious sin. It is serious because it degrades certain members of the body of Christ and makes them less valuable than others. A church which practices favoritism cannot enjoy the blessing of God. Faith and favoritism are incompatible. We are not to distinguish between the have’s and the have nots — whatever it is that they have or do not have. We are to be one in the Spirit.
In the New Testament there were many times when this problem reared its ugly head. One example is when a certain group of believers wanted to demand that all non-Jews be required to follow all the Jewish traditions. They wrangled with this argument for quite a while, until Peter stood up in their midst and said, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:7-9). The result was that the church should treat everyone who believed in Christ and had received the Holy spirit the same, with no distinctions.
Even after the Holy Spirit came upon the believers at Pentecost the problem of favoritism appeared among God’s people. The Christian community was taking care of its widows and distributing food and other needed items to them on a daily basis. The problem was that now there were non-Jews living among them — strangers from other places — and racism dies hard. The widows who were not Jewish Christians were not treated as well as those who were. The apostles had to stop and appoint seven men to oversee the daily distribution to assure that this would no longer happen. It is significant that the verse which concludes this account says, “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly. . .” (Acts 6:7). This inequity was blocking the Spirit of God from working, and it was not until favoritism was addressed that the word of God spread and the number of believers once again began to grow. When a church shows favoritism to any group, it hinders the Spirit of God, power is lost, growth is halted and the witness of the church is damaged.
Favoritism is a sin, but the second point that the Scripture makes clear is: Favoritism is a serious mistake, because appearances can be deceiving. Jesus blew the mind of the religious leaders of the day with unlikely people who became his followers. There were tax collectors and prostitutes, political extremists and socially disenfranchised, and the poor and lame. There was the woman by the well and the sinful woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair. There were James and John, the Sons of Thunder — and even Judas Iscariot. His parables made heros out of people we would never expect, like the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. And who can forget the Rich Man and Lazarus? His sayings turned the thinking of the day upside down, or rather right-side up. He said the last would be first, the poor would be blessed, only servants could be leaders, the simple were wise, and those of low position would be lifted to a place of honor. In God’s economy appearances are deceiving because it is an upside down kingdom. It is the poor who are rich and the rich who are poor. It is the weak who are strong and the strong who are weak. So when we show favoritism to those who have position and power in this culture we are honoring the wrong people.
When we go by outward appearance we are missing what God is doing. The Old Testament has the story of Samuel who had been sent by God to the sons of Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel. God’s man for king of Israel was David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons. But as Eliab, the oldest son appeared before Samuel, he was sure this was God’s man, for he was tall and good looking. The Bible says, “Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:6-7). If Samuel had gone by outward appearances he would have missed anointing the greatest king in the history of Israel.
What mistakes we make when we judge people by their appearance. I have been so wonderfully surprised at times by people whose outward appearance would lead you to believe that they did not have much to offer, but as they came to Christ the beauty of God flowed out of their lives in remarkable ways. Perhaps they did not have much education, but they became full of the wisdom of God as they faithfully followed him. Perhaps they did not have much money, but they became extremely generous and giving because of how the grace of God had touched their lives. Perhaps they were not physically attractive, but their hearts became so beautiful as a result of God’s touch that people were drawn to their inner beauty. So when we reject people based on outward appearance we make a serious mistake, because appearances can be deceiving — not to mention that it is an insult to God who has made them in his image.
When Mother Teresa worked among the lepers in Calcutta, she was not put off by the stench of the leper colonies, the filthy wounds or rotting flesh of the people there. Instead, she touched them and held them, for she saw Jesus in them. Indeed, she saw Jesus coming to her masquerading as a leper. As she touched them she saw herself touch Christ, in what she said was “his distressing disguise.” It was Mother Teresa who said, “If we don’t accept Jesus in one another, we will not be able to give him to others.” One of the great commentaries on how this world views people occurred when Mother Teresa died. In the comedy of God she went home to her reward the same week that Princess Diana was killed. The world grieved and mourned the Princess who had become the icon of pop culture. People cried as though they had lost a close personal friend. All the networks covered the story — and did so endlessly. Forget that her life was immoral and shallow, she was beautiful, sophisticated, famous and wealthy. The networks carried the news of Mother Teresa’s death almost as an afterthought, embarrassed that it had to interfere with the real news. Forget that her life was enormous and that her contribution to the world was incalculable. Forget that she did not run a charitable organization in sterile fashion from a luxurious home in England, but got her hands dirty washing the festering sores on what remained of a leper’s foot, and soiled her robe holding them close to her breast. Forget that she had a heart as big as the sky and touched people’s lives so that they wanted to love God and be better people. Forget the hope and love she gave to people who had neither, she was an old, shriveled up, celibate nun. She would have been very out of place in London’s night clubs, but she was very much at home in a leper colony — and in the kingdom of God.
Favoritism is a serious mistake because it is a sin, and because appearances can be deceiving. But the third point the Scripture makes clear is: Favoritism is a serious mistake, because God opposes the proud. The Bible says, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5). It says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). When you think you are better than someone else, God opposes you. When you think you are more worthy of people’s attention than someone else, God opposes you. When you think that what you say should carry more weight than someone else, God opposes you. When you think that you are better than others because you are intelligent, good looking or a good athlete, God opposes you. When you lack humility, God opposes you.
At one point Jesus sent out seventy-two of his followers to preach and heal in the surrounding towns. When they returned they were full of joy at what God had done through them. You might think that those who were trained at Jerusalem Theological Seminary would have been best suited for this task, but Jesus rejected the educated religious professionals. The Bible says, “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure’” (Luke 10:21). The number one qualification for being used by God is a humble, teachable spirit. If you think you have arrived then you need to know that you haven’t even left the station.
The apostle Peter was one who had trouble with this. He was proud to be a Jew. Even after spending three years with Jesus, even after the resurrection, even after Pentecost, he still thought God preferred the people of his race. His pride and prejudice kept him from fully being a part of God’s work in the world. But God was about to bring him face to face with his idiotic pride. Jews were not allowed to eat certain kinds of meat according to the biblical law. But God came to Peter in a vision. He showed him several unclean animals that were unlawful to eat, coming down out of heaven on a sheet. God spoke to Peter and said, “Get up, kill and eat.” But Peter protested. He would not touch anything unclean. However, God persisted and showed him the vision three times. He heard a voice saying, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15). Then he woke up. And as he did, three men who were not Jews came asking him to go to the house of a Roman centurion in order that he might tell them how to find God. Peter would never have considered going into the home of someone who was not a Jew before, but God had enlarged his thinking through the vision. As he went into the home and began explaining to them the things of God, he said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. . . . I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism” (Acts 10:34). He was no longer being proud and judgmental. He was no longer comparing himself with others. He was no longer looking at others with human eyes, but with the eyes of God. He understood that when we see some people as less important than others we do not see them as Christ sees them.
One Sunday, back in the1970’s, a young man walked into a church midpoint in the service. His hair was long like his hippie friends. He was not especially clean. His clothes were frayed from living on the road, and his feet were bare. But this particular day he had purposely come to church with a desire to find God. He was not there to make a statement or cause trouble. He just wanted to know how to experience the love of Jesus that he had heard others talk about. He didn’t know much about church, and so he wandered down the isle while the preacher was in the middle of his sermon. He sat on the floor with his legs folded under him and looked up at the pulpit. The preacher did not quite know what to do. The people were completely taken aback. A rumble of voices could be heard throughout the congregation. People were indignant. “The nerve of him,” someone could be heard to say. “Well I never!” said another. Someone’s voice rose to say, “Why doesn’t somebody do something?” The ushers began to collect their courage to go down as a group and escort him out of the church. But just then, one of the oldest and most respected members of the church walked quietly down the isle, took off his shoes and socks, and sat with the young man while the preacher finished his sermon. And when the preacher opened the altar for anyone who would like to find God in their lives, the young man knelt at the altar — with the old man beside him.
Rodney J. Buchanan
March 18, 2001
Mulberry Street UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
FAVORITISM
James 2:1-9
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism” (James 2:1).
Favoritism is a serious mistake because . . .
1. It is ______________________________________________ .
2. Appearances ____________________________________ .
3. God _____________________________________________ .
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (Mar 18, 2001)
1. What are the things that this culture uses to evaluate the worth of people?
2. Read James 2:1-4. What examples does James give of how the sin of favoritism was at work in the early church?
3. What are some ways in which favoritism or partiality are a problem for the church today?
4. Why is favoritism such a serious sin?
5. Read Romans 2:11. What would life feel like if this were not true?
6. Think about the kind of people who were Jesus’ followers. Would they be welcome in most churches today? What can we do to make our church more welcoming?
7. Read 1 Samuel 16:7. What is God looking for in a person?
8. Read Luke 10:21. Why would God do this? What is the value in being “little children”?
9. Read Acts 10:15. What did Peter hear the voice saying to him? What implications does this message have for us?
10. In this “Culture of Cool”, how are we to think about ourselves? How are we to relate to others?
11. Think of someone you have been turned off by and pray that you would have an opportunity to minister to them in some way.
