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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“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, 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,' have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2.2-4).
The rhetorical question posed by James, as all such questions do, has an obvious answer. It is as if he had said, “When you show favoritism toward the rich man in your worship assemblies, you become judges with evil thoughts.” This indictment is not to be taken lightly! That might have been the first inclination of his readers, and perhaps that is what prompted him to continue his discussion of the issue, even coming to the point of saying, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2.10). The tendency to dismiss such a “minor” offense as favoritism did not sit well with James, and it ought not to sit well with us. Yet, the problem is one that simply will not go away! I wouldn’t say it is “human nature,” but it certainly is a perennial issue with mankind.
Partiality is a sin that is almost as old as man himself. It is also a sin that manifests itself in many, many ways. It can be an issue where there is a difference in color, wealth, nationality, and scores of other such petty matters! From our discussion yesterday, we can mark it down, God has absolutely NO CONCERN over such matters. There are things about which God is concerned, but it isn’t about any of these things! There are no eternal implications to being rich, poor, blind, disabled, black, white, old, young, weak, strong, skinny, left-handed, etc., etc., etc. There are NOT things about which there are eternal implications, nor are they things about which God has expressed His will. We are expected to be discerning when dealing with some things, but to show partiality when dealing with things of spiritual insignificance (such as we have just listed) is sinful!
How wide spread is partiality among humankind? How wide spread is it in the church? Well, for one thing, I would kind of expect the world to act that way; they don’t know better, or if they do they have made no commitment to act in a godly manner. But, what about the church? Do we know better? Have we made a commitment to act in a godly manner regarding such matters? The answers are obvious! If we know our Bibles, we know better! If we truly became Christians, we implicitly pledged to act impartially when it comes to the types of things James addressed.
But does partiality exist among us? As a believer, it is embarrassing to admit that partiality exists in the ranks of the church. Once naive, I baptized a couple whose skin was a different color than mine and different from the rest of the congregation where I attended. Soon thereafter, the elders counseled me to be careful how I handled such situations since “…people like that have their own unique problems, problems that others of their own color are better equipped to handle.” For years and years such lame excuses have allowed the ungodly walls of partiality to divide God’s people. If there is any place in the universe where such things ought never to occur, surely that place is the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ!
It is not a “minor” sin to be partial; it belies an evil and ungodly heart. James’ question is still apropos: “Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”
Questions:
1. Do you think believers have well-worn excuses for their partiality (if they are partial at all)?
2. What are some of those excuses? Are any of them similar to the one the elders offered to me (see the next to the last paragraph in today’s message)?”
3. Would you say a “judge with evil thoughts” is a good thing? Why or why not?
4. Just how “minor” is the sin of partiality or respect of persons?
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