The Face of Favoritism
James 2:1-13
* I recently read a story about a man who was the interim pastor of a church. He hadn’t been at the church for long, so the people didn’t know him very well yet. (Interim pastors are in a very unique position. Many times they have a lot more insight into what’s really going on in a church than people who have been there forever. Not only do they have more insight than the people, most of the time they have more freedom to do something about it than a full-time pastor does. In other words, they can more easily see the problems. And when they see the problems, they are free to do something about them). Apparently that’s the way this man felt. One Sunday morning before church, he didn’t shave or shower or brush his teeth. He dug through the rag bin and found the worst clothes he could find. They were dirty and stained and worn and smelled like they had been in the rag bin for a while. Then he went to the store and bought a bottle of beer and borrowed a shopping cart. He filled the cart with cardboard, aluminum cans and other junk. And then he poured the beer over his clothes. Then about 5 minutes before service started, he slowly pushed his cart up to the front door of the church. He dug around in it for a minute & then proceeded to walk in the church and sit down quietly on the back row. You could’ve heard a pin drop. Of course, nobody recognized who it was. The only thing they saw was a bum sitting on the back row. And the smell! It was awful. Finally, one of the ushers got up and told the man he would have to leave. So he did. He got up, walked out the front door, around the side of the building & into his private office door. Then, when it was time to preach, he walked out of his office, into the sanctuary and took his place behind the pulpit. And there, still dressed in the clothes of a homeless man, he preached on this passage.
* I suggest that he had a captive audience that day because no one should be able to deny the sin in their heart. (They will, but they shouldn’t!) In the context of Church history, we can say that James probably knew something about this problem because he was either “the pastor” or ‘one’ of the pastors for the church in Jerusalem. This was a large, mega-church with much authority & influence. It has been suggested that, at one time, this church had over 20,000 members so we can be assured that James had bore witness to ‘favoritism’ on at least one occasion.
* Every time I read this text I am reminded of years passed when church attendance was ‘all about’ one’s dress. Over 35+ years – how many times I have spoken with someone only to hear them say, “I have nothing to wear.” James tells us that for the child of God, this shouldn’t be. Let’s take a simple look at our text and glean truths to help us be more like HIM.
1. My Standard – I use the personal pronoun ‘my’ because this, like so many other things, is highly personal. Whether we wear the face of love or bigotry is very personal to us. And it seems that, knowing this, James begins in a personal manner with “My Brothers.”
* He gives clear evidence that his messages is only for those who know, love, & follow Christ. He calls them “Brothers.”
a. Hold your Faith – In most marriage vows are these words, “To have and to hold” from this day forward. It speaks of possession & commitment. When James tells us to hold our faith, he is giving us the same thought. In other words, you have to ‘have it’ before you can ‘hold it.’ Think about some of the words of scripture about ‘faith.’ (Romans 3:10, 3:23, 6:23, 5:8-12, Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 3:3, Ezekiel 36:26). To hold one’s faith, one must first have a faith, and that faith must be faith in Jesus which is a life-changing faith. A true faith in Jesus is like a rebirth. I hate to use this term because it is equated with other religions, but it’s like a spiritual ‘reincarnation.’ In reincarnation, at death the spirit leaves the former body & comes back to a new body. In Salvation, the death comes to the old way of life and a new comes from the inside out. Simply put, we must have faith before we can hold the faith which means we must be saved. Being saved is more than praying a prayer, walking an aisle, signing a card, sitting on a pew, and getting wet. Biblical salvation requires a call from Christ, a commitment to Christ which results in a life changed by Christ. “Old things” pass away and your world view changes.
b. Hate the Favoritism – Favoritism shows itself in many ways & none are pretty or are acceptable to the Father. The illustration James uses is about ‘rich & poor’, the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, the desirable & the undesirable, but make no mistake, favoritism takes many forms. It can be the color of someone’s skin, the cleanliness of someone’s clothes, or the choices that someone made or makes. There are many possibilities. James IMPLORES us to “practice, hold, show, display” our faith by not showing favoritism. In fact, it would seem that James is saying, ‘You can either show your faith or you can show favoritism because the two don’t & won’t go together. One will nullify the other. I found a sad story; [In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he o worship with his own people. Gandhi left the church and never returned, "If Christians have caste differences also,” he said, "I might as well remain a Hindu." That usher’s prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from trusting Him as Savior.] The depth of impact from prejudice & favoritism reaches to the gates of both heaven & hell.
2. My Sin – It seems that sin has a way of creeping into our friendship, our fellowship, and our faith because of the fallen nature of mankind. When I show favoritism the Bible says it is sin. I submit this is seen in 2 ways.
a. Victimizes People – To read this text would have you understand that to ‘put down’ someone because of their ‘lot in life’ is a sin before God. Jesus had more to say about reaching & touching the poor than He did about ‘heaven and hell.’ He came for the needy. It is true that when we reduce someone’s importance because of their ‘status’ that we have literally added to their hurt & thus victimized them. Yet, when someone of social status comes in to our life & we exalt them because of their earthly wealth, we have victimized them. One of the great lessons my dad taught me was that ‘everyone puts on their pants one leg at a time.’ While we may or may not like it put that way, we cannot argue with this; “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.” Red, yellow, black, or white; rich or poor, thin or fat, Hindu or Christian background, everyone is received and welcomed the same way in the family of God AND to exalt or devalue someone because of their ‘social status’ victimizes them.
b. Violates Principle – The principle which I speak of is referred to by James in verse 8 as “The Royal Law”. James refers to the response given by Jesus when asked the question, “Which is the greatest commandment?” Masterfully, Jesus encapsulated the entire Mosaic Law in two statements, “Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, & strength AND Lord your neighbor as yourself.” In fact, ‘all the law & the prophets depend on these two commandments.’ To show the face of preference, prejudice, or favoritism in any form is to violate God’s principles. He sincerely desires for all people to come to Him. Very few things possess the power to turn people to or away from life like this.
3. My Solace – We don’t use this word much anymore. Yet it means comfort, consolation, or relief so what is it or how is it that I will not show a face of favor to those who I meet (whether in this building or on the street). James gives us some action steps to take (if we are believers)
a. Act like a Believer – Verse 12 tells us to both ‘speak’ & ‘act’ like those who are saved. Favoritism is only one area which either validates or invalidates our faith. The impact is far-reaching because how we act & speak may determine the eternity for others.
b. Apply the Bible truths – Verse 13 is a sobering verse. Think about it this way; none of us did anything to deserve the mercy God has given us, yet He gave it anyway. Giving mercy, the benefit of the doubt, or care is the way of Christ. The law of Freedom is found in Jesus. Our Freedom must be used as a way to help, touch, reach, and save others.
* It seems to me that a little ‘favoritism’ here or there, bleeds into a mind-set which has the ability to shipwreck your faith & destroy a fellowship.
On a dangerous sea coast where ship wrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves they went out, day or night, tirelessly searching for the lost. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in surrounding areas, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.
Some of the new members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they redecorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as a sort of club. Less of the members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club decoration, and there was a liturgical lifesaving boat in the room where initiation took place. About this time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boats loaded with cold, wet, and half drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where the victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting, there was a split in club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities as they were thought to be unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal life of the club. Some members insisted on lifesaving, as their primary purpose, and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did.
As the years went by, the new station experienced the same change that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown!
