James 2:1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.
As followers of Jesus, we must act like Jesus. Jesus accepted people of all walks of life. He was often criticized for hanging out with sinners and tax collectors. Even though He criticized the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, he also accepted those who were open and honest. Our natural tendency is to be attracted to the smart, good looking, and wealthy. These are the type of people who are on the covers of magazines and receive awards on tv. James warns about praising these type of people in the church to the neglect of the poor and rejected people of society. In many churches today, if an “outstanding citizen” visited, that person would gain a lot of attention. But a poorly dressed, smelly person would receive stares. About a century ago, Charles Sheldon wrote a book called In His Steps. The key question was, “What would Jesus do?” Sadly, those who say they follow Jesus do not always act like Jesus. They act too much like the world. It is noteworthy how James describes Jesus in this verse as the “Lord of glory.” This recalls the descriptions of God in the Old Testament. This should create a sense of awe, fear, and reverence in those who follow Jesus. It is in light of this glory that we must not show favoritism. We must radiate the same type of love that Jesus showed because we are being transformed into the likeness of this glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
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