My brethren,
have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, with respect of
persons. For if there come unto your
assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a
poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay
clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou
here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under
my footstool; Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of
evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved
brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of
the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you
before the judgment seats? Do not they
blaspheme that worthy Name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal Law according to the
Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. James, Chapter 2, verses 1-8.
We have become “The Lives of the Rich and Famous Christians,” catering to those with status who look and dress a particular way. I wish I could say that I didn’t fall into this category, but I can’t. I think our society falls prey to this, as well. If we were on a bus, train or subway; would we stand to give our seat to someone who looks down and out or would we stand for someone who was either rich or famous? I have a feeling I know which answer I would get if people were really being honest.
If you really think about it, our human logic is
backward. Some of the people with wealth
don’t do as much physical labor and are not exposed to the weather conditions
as much as those who are needier. Those
who are less fortunate probably need our seat more than those with wealth. Well, the same goes with our kindness. The wealthy often have others who treat them
courteously, but do we extend that same courtesy to the poor? I’m ashamed to say that I don’t always. I wouldn’t want God to treat me as
indifferently as I sometimes treat those who are less fortunate. Sure, I give clothes that I no longer want to
the needy, but that takes minimal effort.
That is giving out of my excess and I don’t think that’s the same as
treating others with the respect and the courtesy that they deserve.
Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.
