My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. 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. 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,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? [James 2:1-4]
This passage from James's letter is a strong condemnation of any form of discrimination or partiality in our churches. James has a lot to say about the mistreatment of poor people and there must have been good reason for this. In these verses, he provides a scenario which might seem contrived or exaggerated but the point James is making is very valid. The incident James describes happens in a place where the early Christians are meeting. James uses an unusual word for church - not ecclesia, which is the word used commonly in the New Testament. Instead James uses the word synagogue which was the Jewish place of meeting. This is an indication that James's letter was written very early in the history of the Christian church. There are two people who pay a visit to this particular meeting place. Firstly, there is a man who is clearly very rich and he wants everyone to know that. "A distinguished looking gentleman, with fashionable clothing and expensive gold rings has just arrived. The usher bows and scrapes, then escorts the notable visitor to a prominent, conspicuous seat in the front." [William MacDonald: The Believer's Bible Commentary - with a reference to Guy H King: Belief That Behaves].
Guy King provides a title for this section of James's Letter - 'The Short-sighted Usher.' But there is another visitor to the church and the same usher treats him very differently. He wants this man to be hidden and does not want his presence to affect the others in the 'church'. "This time the usher adroitly seeks to save the congregation from embarrassment by offering the visitor standing room at the rear, or a place on the floor, in front of his own seat." [William MacDonald]
We might think that this is entirely in James's imagination. Surely, no Christian would ever behave like that. And James is addressing fellow believers for he starts the chapter by addressing his readers as 'my brothers and sisters.' James is making the point that all Christians are capable of displaying favouritism and partiality. Would we give the same welcome to a prostitute or a person under the influence of alcohol, or a drug addict etc. as we would to a 'respectable', well dressed person. Do we judge people by their appearance? I have seen discrimination in church events in my lifetime. I have seen a great fuss being made of an individual because of their profession or their wealth. I have also seen Christians finding it hard to know what to do when some people who don't normally attend church find their way into the building.
The New Testament makes it clear that there is no partiality or favouritism with God (Romans 2:11). Here are two passages from Paul's letters where he deals with the great social divide of masters and slaves. He warns masters about their treatment of their slaves (he has already described how slaves should behave but he then addresses masters as follows:
And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. [Ephesians 6:9 NIV]
In Colossians, here is how Paul tells slaves to behave towards their masters.
'Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favouritism. [Colossians 3:22,25 NIV]
This lesson is very relevant in the 21st century. Do we treat people from all races and colours the same? Are we racist in any way in our treatment of fellow Christians? How do we deal with marginalised groups such as travelling people? Perhaps we are not so blatant as the 'short-sighted usher,' and we are more cunning and subtle but we might still discriminate. When I was working in education in North Ayrshire, I did a piece of research which proved (at least to me) that where a young person lived determined their chances of being excluded from school. There were certain streets where the chances of being excluded from school were four times greater than for children from the private housing estates. And our churches are capable of the same discrimination.
I feel that this passage should cause us to reflect seriously and prayerfully on whether our church is inclusive and open to all without any form of favouritism or discrimination. It should make us look at our hearts and our own attitudes. The writer of this commentary is from the USA but his comments are still relevant to us in the United Kingdom.
Black believers have been ostracized in many instances or at least made to feel unwelcome. Converted Jews have not always been accepted cordially. Asian Christians have tasted discrimination in varying degrees. It is admitted that there are enormous social problems in the whole area of racial relations. But the Christian must be true to divine principles. His obligation is to give practical expression to the truth that all believers are one in Christ Jesus. [William MacDonald: The Believer's Bible Commentary]
The former site of the Keswick Convention in Skiddaw Streeet where the strapline, "All One in Christ Jesus' was prominently displayed.
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