FAVORITISM FORBIDDEN JAMES 2:1 - 2:13

 

FAVORITISM FORBIDDEN

JAMES 2:1 - 2:13

 

 ¹My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. ²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³If 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," ⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

 ⁵Listen, 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? ⁶But 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? ⁷Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

 ⁸If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"^[a] you are doing right. ⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"^[b] also said, "Do not murder."^[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

 ¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

 

 

(vs. 1-4)

James continues speaking of true worship, but now he becomes more specific. Once again he addresses the audience as brothers, James is acknowledging they were Christians. Now James addresses the problem of Christians showing favoritism to the wealthy, especially during the worship service. The grammar James uses here is the usage that commonly ordered the cessation of an activity already in progress. James was not warning them against a possible failure, he was ordering them to stop what they were already doing.

 

Notice that this directly follows the previous exhortation of what true worship is. True worship does not show favoritism. True worship does not rest on works. True worship is an act of love toward God and our fellow man. The audience was not practicing true worship. This passage is reminiscent of Nathan's conversation with David in 2 Samuel 12. Nathan first relates a story to David about a rich man who stole from a poor man in order to feed a stranger. King David becomes irate with the rich man and renders a judgment. Nathan then lets David know he is the rich man, and he stole a man's wife.

James has used the same formula in this section. First James tells the audience what true religion is not, then he relates what true religion is. After James has everyone going the same direction, and probably nodding in agreement with him, he informs them that they are guilty of not practicing true worship. They see themselves in his words.

 

In order that they don't miss the point James illustrates. The man with rings and fine clothes is obviously rich. In the time of James wealth was denoted by rings, the more rings the wealthier the person was. Some people would rent rings for special occasions in order to make an impression. This is very similar to actors renting jewelry for parties, something we now see a lot.

 

The person in shabby clothes was a beggar. The words translated as shabby clothes denote a beggar, not a poor workman. Both of the persons are visitors in the worship service but are treated totally differently. The rich man is given a seat of honor, perhaps someone was made to move in order to give the rich man a seat seen as more honorable. The poor man was seated on the floor, perhaps in the back of the room. The worshippers stated by their actions that the rich man was of more worth than the poor man. The fact that they were both visitors indicates that the judgment was made on appearances alone. This is not in accordance with either the Spirit of Christ or the Law of Moses and what is not in accordance with the Holy Spirit is evil.

 

This kind of event could easily have happened often in the early church. This was a time when social structures were changing and divisions between segments of society were becoming somewhat less clear. The slave owner who became a Christian might attend a worship service where one of their slaves leading the service. This was a difficult adjustment for all concerned. James is warning the reader that addressing that problem can only be done through the Holy Spirit.

 

(vs 5-7)

James now seems to speak of the importance of the poor. James is not saying the poor are more important than the wealthy but rather the financial means and power a person seems to have (or not have) makes no difference to God. It is important to the listener that what James is saying be truly understood. James addresses them as "dear brothers." This is the second time he uses the term brothers, this time it is with the added "dear." James is telling them that they are servants of Christ just as he is. They serve the same God and are saved by the same Savior. They need to listen to the Spirit in this matter and grow.

 

The poor are important, they do not have the care of riches to blind them to the message of Christ and often they understand the message of the Gospel more quickly.  They are important to the work of the Kingdom. James asks "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?"  The framing of this question lets us know the answer is YES!

 

The poor in our society and churches have been insulted by us, the worshippers. Those who seem to matter to no one, matter intensely to God. They have been ignored and made to feel less than welcome. They are told, by our actions, they have little to contribute and do not have any value. These wealthy people receiving preferential treatment are the same people that exploit them. These are the moneylenders, the ones who charge high interest and pay low wages. These wealthy persons are the ones who keep the majority of the population suppressed. These are the people who arrest the believers on the streets, sue them in court, dispossess them, and some cases cause their families to be sold into servitude to pay off debts owed them. These are the people to whom the worshippers are showing favoritism. The actions of the worshippers are ludicrous.

 

To add insult to injury, these are often the same people slandering the name of the Lord, the Messiah. Social and class distinctions were being muddied. Servants were finding a new freedom in Christ. Fear of earthly punishment was giving way to hope in Christ. The wealthy were losing their hold on their servants and slaves. The wealthy had a vested interest in eliminating belief in Christ, yet these were the same persons being treated with favoritism. Not only were the actions of the believers not in accordance with the teachings of Christ, they were not logical or in their own best interest. James is telling them to THINK about what they were doing.

 

Verse 7 deserves special mention. The words used here are the words used for a wife taking her husband's name in marriage, or a child being called after their father. We belong to Christ as a husband and wife belong to each other. We would not treat someone with favoritism who insulted our spouse, why do we do so with those who insult Christ?

 

(vs. 8-10)

James now employees the if word. "If you really keep the royal law found in the scripture, "love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. In other words, if your actions are truly based on love and treating everyone equally, you are doing the right thing. James does not attempt to judge each case. Whether a person's motives are scriptural or not is between that individual and Christ. James simply admonishes them to perform their actions with the right motives. It is just as wrong to show favoritism to a poor person because they are poor as it is to show favoritism to a rich person because of their wealth. Once again it is the state of the heart that is important, not the action.

 

Now James addresses a touchy subject. Any sin, no matter how small (or white) it is, makes a person a sinner. Motives do not count, sin is sin and must be repented. People have a hard time with this. James is not into situational ethics. A person who steals goes to jail just as surely as person who murders. Stealing a loaf of bread can lead to the same judgment as stealing an expensive car. Nowhere does the Bible speak of degrees of sin. All sin must be brought under the blood of Christ.

 

God's law is a unity, being the expressed will of one Lawgiver. Violating God's will at any point means that the offender has disobeyed God's intention. The result of this is to establish that all people require the Blood of Christ, since no one is guiltless. We all fail at some point. The Law cannot save.

 

(vs. 12-13)

James sounds like he is restating Matthew 7:1-2. We are all going to be judged by the Scripture. We are all judged by the Law of Freedom, the love of Christ. We must do the same for others. If we require more than the Scriptures, more than Christ, more than the Law of Love, the Law of Freedom, those same requirements will be required of us. Love requires mercy, helping, leading, actions of love and caring. If we cannot give these, they will not be given to us.

 

The practice of showing favoritism continues to our day. Many churches in the U.S., up until recently, sold the best pews. Different minority groups, or undesirables, have been kept out of churches. This continues to the present time as well as the reverse where those who are part of a minoriyt are more favorable treated. We still, by our actions, let visitors know if they are welcome or not, for whatever reason. Things have not changed.