Playing Favorites
In the weeks past, I have been discussing the book of James. The first post I spent talking about trials and enduring hardship. What we see is that trials are really circumstances where our desires and our will go against God’s sovereign will. Bad things happen in our lives that cause us to question God’s goodness. We look to satisfy our own desires and that pull is called temptation. God doesn’t tempt us. Our evil desires and our hearts tempt us. But we learned that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. We have a promise that in Christ we will persevere.
In the second post, James suggested that when we are experiencing trials, we tend to lack wisdom. We learned how to humble ourselves before God to ask. We also talked about what it means to be double minded, when you don’t have faith that your prayers are going to be answered. Faith is the great connector of all of James’ ideas so far. We need to have faith that God is there and willing to answer prayers. We need to have faith that our trials aren’t all that there is. James also spoke about another way to apply your faith. He said those of you who are in a humble circumstance you should take pride in your high position in God’s Kingdom. However, if you are rich in some way, you should take pride in the fact that you will pass away along with whatever Gift God gave you to enjoy temporarily. This is because any gift that we have now will pale in comparison to the riches of an eternity in the presence of God. In his writing, James seems to think about inequality of earthly wealth a lot, but he sees beyond just the surface into deeper issues. He uses the inequality of wealth as another example in Chapter 2, so let’s read:
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If 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,”
James is writing this to brothers and sisters (a church audience.) And he says you must not show favoritism. He gives an example of a rich man and a poor man in filthy clothes. He says if you are in your meeting (at church or doing something that is supposed to be honoring God), you need to not have favorites. But it doesnt have to be restricted to the poor versus the rich. We can do this with any type of thing that God has blessed someone with. In high school I remember there were cliques that formed. You couldn’t break into a click of friends because they were tight. It is natural. You have a group of people who value the same things, or have the same interests, or play the same sports. Or in my case you have a group of people who were bullied by the same bullies. It’s normal to form alliances or grow closer to others. Jesus had 12 disciples, but only Peter, John, and James went certain places with Him. Jesus had 3 really close disciples, and 9 others that were close by, but if you look at his ministry, he ministered to ANYONE he encountered. Male, Female. Jew, Samaritan. Pharisee or Saduccee. Paul did the same type of thing. He taught Jews in synagogues in the beginning, but went out to Gentiles. It’s natural to have cliques and preferences, but we can’t always show favoritism like that. James is saying in church we should do our best to break this habit. We should welcome newcomers to the church with open arms, whether they are rich or poor, athletic or not, eloquent or rough around the edges. Ugly or beautiful. Man or woman. This is a very hard thing to accomplish. We naturally discriminate with who we spend time and associate with. We discriminate by gender or appearance when we decide who we marry or date. We inadvertently discriminate based on location. We tend to discriminate or attention based on language, culture, appearance, occupation. As Christians we need to work at turning this off. Especially in a church when we have visitors or new people who join a congregation. We need to turn off favoritism at the VERY least at church on Sunday. But more than that, we need to show no favoritism outside of the church. That’s how we grow God’s Kingdom and be salt and light to the world. We need to go forth and make disciples, but that will never happen if you only hang around with disciples or if you pick favorites and ignore others.
3 If 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,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
In the next verses James explains exactly what it means when we start to show favoritism. Verse 4, we start to judge. It’s not sinful to mainly associate with friends or close companions. But look deeper. If we are treating some people as our favorites and others as lesser people and the reason is because of your opinion of them, and that opinion is based on some superficial or outward characteristic, you become a judge. Jesus tells us to “Judge not.” When we see a poor person, we shouldn’t judge their heart based on their clothing or appearance, because we don’t know their heart. If they are a believer in Christ, we know they have a high position in God’s kingdom. That’s what James said in James 1:9. If there is a rich person, we shouldn’t judge their heart based on their wealth or possessions, because we don’t know their heart. If they are a believer in Jesus, they will pass away and experience an eternity which will make their lives pale in comparison to the riches of experiencing God. James is reminding us “Judge Not!” God uses poor people and rich people in different ways.
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: 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? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
The poor in the eyes of the world tend to be rich in faith. And who is behind this? It’s God! God chose those who are poor to be richer in faith. Jesus said it is more difficult for the rich to have that faith. He said it was harder for a camel to walk through an eye of a needle. But He also said that with God all things are possible. Rich people can put on Christ, and take pride in the fact that they will pass away. It can be done. Verses 6-7 can be taken out of context if read all alone. James is not trying to start class warfare. Remember he is writing to a specific church, a specific group of people. He said, “you have dishonored the poor”. He is not saying society has dishonored the poor, or the universal Christian church has dishonored the poor. He is saying that this local group of believers is having problems in this area. He is talking about certain rich people who are dragging certain other poor people to court. This isn’t a commentary on society that says only rich people will drag poor people to courts. And if it was to be taken as a societal commentary, then we would have to decide whether or not this is still happening today. If it is happening, then it is a problem, like it was in James’ day and it would need to be addressed. The Christian church should be the biggest proponent in fair and unbiased trials and a legal system that protects all members of society equally. In verse 7 James is not saying that only rich people blaspheme the name of God or Jesus. Unfortunately plenty of people blaspheme, both poor and rich. Unfortunately many people dishonor God, and many people do not have faith and trust in God. So James isn’t saying that the rich are a bunch of exploitative blasphemers. Try to think about it another way. If James WAS trying to say that all rich people are exploiting all poor people, or all rich people were blasphemers, then he would be making a categorization and creating a stereotype. That is discriminatory. So he would be showing favoritism towards “the poor” and favoring them over “the rich”. But that’s the very thing he said not to do in James 2:1. And what’s more, if James DID want to favor the poor, he would be breaking the law found in the Old Testament. Leviticus 19:15
“‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
When you read the Bible, you need to take everything in the context of how it’s written, but also make sure your interpretation is in harmony with everything else that’s in Scripture. I don’t want to read James 2:6-7 and come to the conclusion that we need to start class warfare, or riots against the 1%. I am not trying to blame one group for the problems of another, which is a very popular thing to do. The Bible teaches that we should be fair to everyone and not jump to any conclusions about who they are based on what we see. We don’t see the full picture.
Another reason we should not show favoritism is because God doesn’t show favoritism among His believers. I need to repeat this. God does not show favoritism among his elect.. This idea that God has His favorites is something that I actually heard. I found it troublesome because it seems to have crept into the doctrine of supposedly Christian churches. Recently, I have had Christians tell me that God has His favorites. They then have told me I am blessed and that I am one of God’s favored. It sounds like the kind of thing a false prophet would try to say to the itching ears of somebody who wants a compliment. But it rubbed me the wrong way, because it seemed to go against what the Bible says, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where in the Bible it was refuted. But this verse in James is a start.
I remembered that an angel of God told Mary she was “highly favored” but then I looked at that angel’s message. The message was not exalting Mary or her characteristics and personality at all, but exalting and glorifying the Baby that was growing within her. This is an error that we sometimes fall into. Sometimes we think that a gift shows favor in the recipient, but it really illustrates and tells more about the generosity of the GIVER than anything about the recipient.
So what does the Bible say about favoritism? Paul writes to the Galatians 2:6
As for those who were held in high esteem―whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism―they added nothing to my message.
If you read a few verses after this, in Galatians 2:9, you can see that Paul was referring to Peter, James, and John. I mentioned earlier that those three were Jesus’ closest friends when he walked the Earth. But Paul says that their message wasn’t anything beyond Paul’s own message. None of the apostles added anything to the main message of the other apostles. And what was Paul’s message? It was the Gospel. The gospel message is God’s message, not Peter’s or James’ or John’s or Paul’s. For a while Peter thought that the Gospel was just for Jews. He didn’t understand at first, but God spoke to him and revealed Himself through Peter’s circumstances. Luke records the Spirit inspired words of Peter in Acts 10:34-35
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
Nobody has anything more to add to this gospel, whether it’s Jesus’ closest friend Peter, who totally missed that salvation was for all, and not just the Jews. Or Paul, a guy who saw a flash of light on the road and converted. Paul says that all are equal before God. Jew and Greek, circumcised, uncircumcised, male or female, intelligent or foolish. The Gospel is for everybody. And God’s ultimate and maximum and infinite favor rests on that group. Whosoever believes in him. Anyone who hears the Shepherd’s voice and responds to it. Although we are all sinners, Jesus died so that we could be made free from our sin, we could be reconciled to God, we could be adopted into God’s family, and we could live with him Forever. What favor can God give us that is beyond his only begotten Son? That is the biggest and most important thing. If you are part of God’s elect then you are favored and blessed. Well beyond what is deserved, and well beyond ANY other blessing that you can point to.
Some might argue, well God DOES have favorites, because He blesses some believers more than others. But that’s wrong because that’s just looking at the surface of their lives. That’s just taking the most superficial view and ignoring the real blessing. Let’s use an example of two believers. Let’s say that God blesses Raul with good looks, lots of money, a caring and thoughtful attitude towards others, patience, and a healthy athletic body. Now let’s say that Ron has a dead end job, a self centered mindset, a bad temper, and he gets tired and winded going up three stairs. Is God showing favoritism towards Raul? No. Both are going to end up in Heaven, which is so much better permanently than anything that either person is experiencing now for a short time. Now which one has more trust that God is good and blesses those who have faith in Him? Remember faith is “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Who is able to see less of God’s providence? Who needs more faith and trust to believe that God is good? To Ron, God is bigger because he has less evidence. Jesus said that the first will be last and the last will be first. Look at the Beatitudes. Blessed are the Poor, those who hunger, the meek, those who mourn. To Ron, there is less of God’s Goodness and less perceived provision that he can see, but he still has a saving faith in Jesus just like Raul. God has blessed Raul with some things that will pass away, and God has blessed Ron (and Raul) with a faith. Does God favor one over the other? He has blessed both with the forgiveness of their sins, and an everlasting life. They will both end up in Heaven. And both of their Earthly lives are a gift. If you think Raul is more favored than Ron, you are missing the big picture. God loves all equally. Whoever believes shall have eternal life. But even though God loves us all equally, it doesn’t mean that God treats us all the same. We are all individuals, and God loves us as individuals, which means He loves us intimately for WHO WE ARE. Ron might be a guy who would have put his faith in his occupation or his charm, or his seemingly endless youth if God had blessed him with those things on Earth. It may have been God’s mercy that He didn’t give those things to Ron, or else Ron wouldn’t have loved God. We just don’t know. But God lavished Ron with grace, mercy, love, and gave him a saving faith that he so desperately needed.
As another example, take a father who has two kids. He loves both equally, but they are different individuals. One loves sports, the other loves art. If the father treated both the same, he would choose one activity for both. If he chose soccer, he would be treating one with love, but he would be ignoring the needs of the other. Equal love doesn’t mean the same treatment. Because of this equal love, God gives us differential treatment. That differential treatment can make some people think that God has favorites, but it just means that God is loving all of us in a different and unique way that grows us up individually. In 1 Corinthians and other places, Paul talks about differences in people and compares them to different parts of a body. Some parts are good at some things and bad at others. I can’t smell with my ears or hear with my hands. Some parts are presentable and common, but other more private parts require modesty and are not presentable. Those parts are thought to be less honorable, and remain hidden, but actually get special treatment and a special honor. Every part has it’s own purpose, and every person has his or her own purpose. Since we all have unique things that make us special, God loves us and treats us all differently. We mistake that differential treatment with favoritism, but God shows no favoritism among his Believers. How does James end this part?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
]To sum up his ideas condemning favoritism, James says we should love our neighbor as ourselves. When we favor anyone, including even ourselves, we fall short of keeping this law. That’s harsh. You shouldn’t favor anybody! We should try to keep this law, but like all of God’s laws it’s impossible for a sinful human being to keep this law. This topic can be it’s own sermon.
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
But Verses 10-11 explain the pervasiveness of our sinful nature, as well as illuminate that none are righteous. If we break one law, we are lawbreakers. There are different consequences and different degrees of sinfulness. Having an affair is much worse than thinking lustful thoughts. Murdering is much worse than calling your brother a fool. But any and all of those things make us guilty before a perfect God. All of those things, regardless of the severity, qualify us to be called lawbreakers. This is why Christ is so important. This is why a perfect sacrifice is necessary to pay for our sins. This is why we are all equal before God, and stand condemned without Christ. But with Christ we stand justified. God showed us mercy, because he showed Judgment towards Jesus.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
We should speak and act as people who will be judged by the law that gives freedom. We should not speak as people who are going to receive punishment and are slaves to sin. But as recipients of mercy. Recipients of a freedom that was bought by a price. We should not speak and act as proud or “holier than thou” Christians. We are lawbreakers and sinners who have been saved by the Grace and Mercy of God, the Work of Jesus, and the counsel and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.