1. James 2:1-5 Has not God chosen those who are poor in the
world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
2. 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith
in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if a man with gold rings
on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a
poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, 3 and you pay
attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, Sit here,
please, while you say to the poor one, Stand there, or Sit at my
feet, 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become
judges with evil designs? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not
God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and
heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
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3. In a church community there must be no discrimination or
favoritism based upon position or wealth. Discrimination and
favoritism has always been present in all societies of the world
but it is important to remember not to judge or stereotype people.
If the boss were to come to your house for dinner wouldnt you make
special preparations? Sure you would. You would have special food,
think about what you are going say and do, and instruct the
children to be on their best behavior.
4. If on the other hand, your brother came over for dinner,
would you prepare special food, would you contemplate what you
would say or do? No! So whats the difference between the two
visitors? Your attitude. You assign less importance to your
brothers visit because he cant give you a raise or promote you in
the work place.
5. Didnt you do just what James is cautioning you against, you
showed partiality based on position. Both rich and poor can live
out Gods plan for their lives without discrimination or favoritism.
One inmate in a state prison told me, I was happy that I was put
into prison because if I was still on the streets Id probably have
AIDS or would have died of an overdose. She was happy to trade her
addiction to money, to position and to drugs for a prison term. She
goes on to explain God put me in prison to save my life, to teach
me the important lessons I refused to listen to in the past .
Prison gave me time to reflect and the prison term led me to a
closer relationship with God who created me.
6. Having acquired a great sense of humility and spirituality
she was now ready to return to the secular world, her job, her
position and has been reunited with her less demanding and more
forgiving family. This is what James is getting at, we are all
vulnerable to ups and downs but we all have equal value. Remember
it was the poor of the world who, in their humility, welcomed Jesus
but the rich and famous of Jerusalem in their pride of position
rejected him (Mt. 9).