Monday 31/12/12

James 2:1-4 ESV

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Here God teaches us to treat everyone, rich or poor, high or low, equally with no partiality and no distinction. In God's eyes, all men are equal. But our worldly and sinful tendency naturally want to appease a rich and powerful person, while treating poor people with contempt. Here the Bible rebukes such thoughts, because the rich and powerful tend to be poor and distant toward God, while the poor are usually close and full of faith to Him. To balance things out, we should treat everyone equally gracious because in God's eyes, all men are equal. Whoever go to church are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and are our equal.