James 2:1-8 NKJV
2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;
Favoritism. Partiality. Judgmentalism. That’s what James refers to at the beginning of today’s reading. And, through the Holy Spirit, James calls upon us not to engage in that kind of behavior or to have that mindset. It’s not Godly; it’s not edifying; it’s not being a good neighbor. And thus, it neither glorifies God nor gives a very good witness.
Consider some of the people in the Bible that in our sinful nature we would otherwise consider poor, unsavory, outcasts, or simply people we would rather not deal with: the poor beggar in Luke 16 who was so poorly off that dogs licked his sores, yet he was a believer in God’s promises and ended up eternally relieved; the man at the Bethesda pool who had no one to carry him into the water to be healed until Jesus did so; and many other Biblical characters who had almost nothing in this life except faith in Christ to heal and deliver them. It’s not, of course, that only those kinds of people get to heaven, but so many times in the Bible we are given a comparison between those who have and those who have not. A rich man can indeed get into heaven, but only by the same way that a poor man can – through God-given faith and trust in Christ’s all-atoning suffering and death for all sins.
James tells us, “Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” Only those who see themselves as poor before God – those who accept their sinfulness and ultimate need for a Savior and believe that Christ paid for their sins – will be saved eternally. Repent and believe the gospel of Christ, and you will be saved. Then you will better understand, appreciate, and joyfully participate in loving your neighbor as yourself, for all who are believers in Christ are family.
Let us pray: O God, the Strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without You, grant us the help of Your grace that in keeping Your commandments we may please You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.