My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,mother Lord of glory, with partiality.(2) For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, (3) and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” (4) have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? (5) Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
The Apostle James, the half brother of Jesus, wrote this pastoral letter Addressed to believing Christians. And in our verses today, James addresses partiality – privilege we humans show for those materially rich and celebrated in society. The point he is making is that we Have been given different gifts but the faithful are equal in the eyes of God and we should live relative to this truth.
Bias based on material success exists in all cultures and has done so in all ages. We make character judgments based on exterior appearance or reputation. We look for clues – shortcuts – for how we accept others; how are others dressed, how confident are they, how do they live, eTc. James is telling us that the most powerful men in this world are nothing in comparison to Christ. I read the home for sale section of the Wall Street Jounreal every Friday and wonder where the builders of these enormous and incredibly expensive homes are now?? We are all dying. We are all corrupt, ephemeral, temporary. Everything of this world is passing away and the “riches” of the world are only distractions – smoke and mirrors – snares. Christ alone should be exalted.
When we make judgments we are mistaken as only God can see the true motives of men. We cannot see through the mental or physical impairment to the true nature of our fellow man. James is reminding his readers of this – of this failing as a consequence of our sinful nature. We need to be reminded that our default setting is sin. Our answer to this sin of partiality should be to treat all men/women as Christ in them.
Man is not saved because of anything he does. There is nothing we can do that merits salvation – it is purely a gift from God – and material goods, personal success and celebrity are not indicators of salvation. We need to push aside the curtain of this worlds temptations and see The only thing that matters and that is Christ Who is our treasure. Matthew 6:21 relates “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”