READING: Ezekiel 14-15, James 2
“But if you show discrimination, you commit sin.”
James 2:9
Showing partiality is sometimes so easy to do we almost don’t even recognize we’re doing it. It’s easy to lean toward the rich over the poor, the educated over the uneducated, the powerful over the weak, and those of my ethnic group over others. I doubt, though, that our partiality is simply our preferring one group over another. It’s not as simple as, “I’m more partial to this group because I like them better.” If we’re honest, our partiality is often toward those who can offer us the most rather than toward those who will cost us the most. Our favoritism is thus not a result of preferring one group over another; it’s more often a result of selfishness that seeks to gain the most from others.
That’s particularly the case when our actions show preference of the rich over the poor. Our actions may not be as blatant as those that James describes – “you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Sit here in a good place,’ and yet you say to the poor man, ‘Stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit here on the floor by my footstool,’” (James 2:3) – but we nevertheless fail to reflect the heart of God when bias toward the rich reigns in us. Not only does it miss God’s overall concern for the poor, but it also likely indicates a heart of worldliness that is antithetical to Christian living. We believers are to be only temporary residents here – aliens and strangers (1 Pet. 2:11) – rather than personal kingdom builders; and, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves regardless of any economic value they might offer to us.
Indeed, James reminds us, “But if you show discrimination, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:9). That word from the Lord is clear enough that we surely would not want to favor some folks over others. Our God loves all of them.
ACTION STEPS:
- Confess to God any favoritism you recognize in your own heart.
- Find out what your church is doing among the poor, and participate in that ministry.
PRAYER: “Forgive me, Father, when I have sinful partiality in my heart and actions.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 16-17, James 3
