Wednesday April 6, 2022

Scripture James 2: My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. ² Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. ³ If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Life Lesson: The redeemed of the Lord have no reason to ever show favoritism because we, the underserving, have been given access to the riches of heaven and the only person we should ever be concerned with impressing or pleasing is the Lord Jesus Christ!

– It is unfortunate that our culture tends toward celebrating superficiality and ignoring or denigrating those who lack external appeal.  This however, is nothing new.  It was said of the coming Messiah, Isaiah 53: ² … He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”    

– During His public ministry even Nathanael showed prejudice against Jesus in saying, John 1:
⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” And the religious leaders derided Jesus saying, John 7: ⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

– The Second person of the Triune Godhead came into this world and was treated with contempt based on prejudicial and superficial bias.  The writer of the Book of Hebrews reminds us, 13: ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Imagine discriminating only to one day discover it was angel of God that we shunned! 

– We cannot and should not ever discriminate based on appearances, in fact we who have been made beneficiaries of the Kingdom of Heaven have no reason to ever discriminate.  It is we who are the underserving, yet the King of kings has shown us favor!   And since we have been given such immeasurable favor and access to such infinite power, why would we ever concern ourselves with what anyone else thinks about us and our association with those whom the world deems, “unworthy”? 

– The Bible tells us that it is specifically those whom the world deems as nothing that God chooses for His service, 1 Cor. 1: ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

– Love on everyone regardless of their status!  All are loved by God and welcome at His table!