Showing Partiatity
James 2:1 (ESV) My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
James deals with the sins we tend to be okay with in American Christianity. Its probably why his book resonates so well with us in this generation.
Partiality. What is the big deal? James says it's sin and he's absolutely correct.
Who gets our attention? Who is the person we hope comes to the party? Who's approval and appreciation are we searching for?
James says, "show no partiality". NONE. That is hard. We all have a few people we prefer. We all love to rub shoulders with the important members of society. Once I sat next to an NFL coach on an airplane ride from Tulsa to Chicago. It made my week! Why?
If we are holding our faith in the LORD of GLORY, then no one else is that important! We have Jesus, who can compare?
Why does it matter that we aren't partial? Because partiality contradicts the nature of our Lord's coming. He was the son of a woman outside of marriage. He was from Nazareth. He was poor. He worked with His hands. His best friends were fishermen. He was considered an illegitimate child. He made Himself NOTHING (Philippians 2:6-8) emptying himself of everything and serving God through anything.
Why?
Because everyone matters. Even shepherds out in the field keeping watch at night. Even women of questionable character. Even beheaded prophets, and short tax collectors, and people with 2 coins left to their name. Everyone matters to Jesus. Everyone is someone for whom He died.
To show partiality is to reject the inherent value of a human being.
Tonight, hollywood celebrates itself for the 10,000th time. Tonight, the country watches "stars" of stage and screen receive awards that will be succeeded by someone else next year.
I wonder, what is God watching? Where are His eyes and His attention?
His eye isn't glued to a screen, that's for sure.
James says, "God (has) chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him" James 2:5
If we Christians did James 2:1-8 we could change the world, one less notable person at a time.
PRAYER:
Father, help me remember who you think is important instead of being drowned by the world's estimation. I'm in need of eyes that see humanity the way you see them. I want to take notice of the person you notice. I want to be like Jesus. I want to see like Jesus sees. Change my heart. Amen.
James deals with the sins we tend to be okay with in American Christianity. Its probably why his book resonates so well with us in this generation.
Partiality. What is the big deal? James says it's sin and he's absolutely correct.
Who gets our attention? Who is the person we hope comes to the party? Who's approval and appreciation are we searching for?
James says, "show no partiality". NONE. That is hard. We all have a few people we prefer. We all love to rub shoulders with the important members of society. Once I sat next to an NFL coach on an airplane ride from Tulsa to Chicago. It made my week! Why?
If we are holding our faith in the LORD of GLORY, then no one else is that important! We have Jesus, who can compare?
Why does it matter that we aren't partial? Because partiality contradicts the nature of our Lord's coming. He was the son of a woman outside of marriage. He was from Nazareth. He was poor. He worked with His hands. His best friends were fishermen. He was considered an illegitimate child. He made Himself NOTHING (Philippians 2:6-8) emptying himself of everything and serving God through anything.
Why?
Because everyone matters. Even shepherds out in the field keeping watch at night. Even women of questionable character. Even beheaded prophets, and short tax collectors, and people with 2 coins left to their name. Everyone matters to Jesus. Everyone is someone for whom He died.
To show partiality is to reject the inherent value of a human being.
Tonight, hollywood celebrates itself for the 10,000th time. Tonight, the country watches "stars" of stage and screen receive awards that will be succeeded by someone else next year.
I wonder, what is God watching? Where are His eyes and His attention?
His eye isn't glued to a screen, that's for sure.
James says, "God (has) chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him" James 2:5
PRAYER:
Father, help me remember who you think is important instead of being drowned by the world's estimation. I'm in need of eyes that see humanity the way you see them. I want to take notice of the person you notice. I want to be like Jesus. I want to see like Jesus sees. Change my heart. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment