James 2:1-13
How We Treat People Matters

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 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," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

New International Version

I'm hesitant to choose such an obvious title for this meditation. I'm just as hesitant to offer thoughts about the obvious message of this passage. James's stern instruction to Jewish Christians of his day and Christians through the ages stands on its own and doesn't need to be explained. At the same time, we would all think such instruction should not even need to be given!

But see how casually sin must have infiltrated the Jerusalem fellowship.

It is hard to imagine that James is writing to the same community of faith as we read about in the early chapters of Acts. The Jerusalem church started with those who had followed Jesus's teachings, mostly common laborers, the invisible underclass of society, and those rejected as unworthy by the Jewish religious establishment. The Jerusalem church had reached beyond the bounds of proper Israelite society to prostitutes and tax collectors, to Canaanites and Greeks, and to the entire world's population as they obediently followed Jesus' commission. This was the church who brought in 3000 new members on Pentecost, irrespective of their native language or heritage. How could they possibly have developed favoritism in their ranks?

Yet James, the half-brother of Jesus, sharply criticizes Christians for losing their focus and becoming the establishment. Many of the people to whom James wrote listened to Jesus's words about humility and pride, but fell into the same old sinful habits once their movement became established.

Practical matters might have been part of the temptation. Think of all the good work that a wealthy member of the church can make possible through donations! On the other hand, members of the church who are poor might require more resources than they donate. Think of all the community connections that a wealthy member might make that could promote the survival and support the ongoing work of the congregation!

Preferential matters must have also played a part. Given the choice of sitting next to someone who was well-dressed and sitting next to someone who hadn't had a bath in days, people tend to choose the person without an odor. More than that, people feel more comfortable and open around other people with common backgrounds, experiences, or opinions, and building strong bonds with other Christians is important.

Pragmatic and reasonable? Yes. Holy? Not at all.

When we make decisions about someone's value or merit without asking for and waiting for God's guidance, we are sinning. We might think that a certain person's fame, background, or wealth would have advantages for our fellowship, but God knows best. We can make the best of observations and decisions based on what we observe about people, but only God knows the heart of each person. Just like God instructed Gideon to eliminate most of the troops before attacking the Midianites, God has a plan for every activity in our churches, and God has reasons we might never understand for selecting specific people to carry on those activities.

We must be just as careful and open to God's leading in choosing friends, even though we all have years of experience to guide our choices. God's goals for us are rarely that we would be "comfortable", so God often will have a purpose and a growth opportunity in chance meetings or friendships we would never normally choose.

Most fundamentally, though, we are ignoring key truths about Grace when we make these kinds of assessments of other people. The best individuals we can imagine are still sinners under the Law, condemned to death for rebelling against God. No power, no wealth, no amount of public service, no knowledge of the scriptures, no church experience, not even a gentle and loving disposition can overcome the truth that we all alike are sinners. But even the worst individuals we can imagine are made in the image of God, and God offers redeeming Grace to every person. We all alike can be saved by Grace, and only by Grace. These two truths matter infinitely more than any other characteristic we can observe.

God is teaching us and maturing us so that we will come closer to seeing people in the way that God sees them. In doing so, we fulfill the pair of commandments to love God and to love each other with that Love that God has planted and nurtured in our souls. How we treat other people shows how well we are learning those lessons.