This is one of my favorite bands. If you know who this is, don’t say anything, but if you don’t know who this is, what might you be thinking about me right now? Maybe something like, “Really, Pastor?” Or maybe, “Is that okay? That doesn’t look like a very good band…” At worst maybe, “It’s wrong for Christians to listen to music like that, it’s evil.”
Let me put your mind at ease, this is Skillet. They are a Christian band who, if you read lyrics of their songs, you will quickly realize that their tried and true, tested through the fire, faith is at the center of all that they do. Now, I don’t expect that everyone will like their style of music, it’s not for everyone. But the point is that what is important with them is what is in their hearts, and that is Christ.
Now, here’s an even more important question, one that James posed to his readers as well. If someone dressed like this man came into our church service one Sunday, what would our response be?
What if one of the local homeless men came in one Sunday, in clothes he had been wearing for weeks, with hair that hadn’t been washed, carrying his few possessions in a backpack, maybe with his dog? What would our response be then? What kind of treatment would a person like this receive? What kind of treatment would a person like this receive from you out in the community?
Let’s look to the Word this morning. I’ll be in James 2:1-13. “My brothers and sisters, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in bright clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators. For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law. So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”
This is a hard word. It’s hard because it’s not black and white. It’s hard because once again, it causes us to be humble, to examine our hearts and see if we are guilty of the sin James calls out. It’s the sin of partiality.
James warns in verse 4 that the issue here is creating distinctions between people in the church to the point that it causes you to treat some better than others. This is hard because distinctions and these sort of snap judgments that we make about people are all around us in this world.
Here’s some distinctions that people have used to judge me in the church and treat me differently: I’m a woman; I’m young-ish; I can be loud; I listen to rock music; I nursed my kids in church; I couldn’t afford to buy new “modest” clothes when I experienced entire sanctification; I expect that Christians will be nice to other Christians on social media. These are distinctions that have been used to cause people in the church to treat me differently. I’m sure that you have some, too. We all do. And ultimately, I believe that is the point! We are all different, created uniquely by a unique Creator. Created to be unique, to have different gifts and talents than one another, to look different than one another, to have different personalities than one another.
But, as different as we are, the thing we can rejoice in is that each of us was created differently for a reason, and that reason is to reflect the image of our unique Creator. Many of our differences are a beautiful mosaic of all the facets of our Creator’s imagination! Differences that reflect His character and His love should be embraced and celebrated, particularly by the church. James warns against those who might use some of these differences to create divisions in the church, or distinctions that single people out as undeserving.
I’m reminded of the words of the apostle Paul, in the book of Galatians that we’ve finished not too long ago, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28, NASB
There is no room for favoritism in the church because Christ is for all. Christ is for all persons of all colors, all races, all nationalities, all ages, all backgrounds, and every other “all” we can think of.
I’m also reminded of Romans 12:10, “Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.” HCSB
James takes this idea of loving our brothers and sisters with deep love, and trying to outdo one another in showing honor to others, and he extends this idea to even those who just come in to the assembly of believers from the outside. The idea is certainly to love other believers deeply, but he is quick to remind us that loving our neighbors as ourselves extends to everyone. We know this! He says in verse 8 that if we are fulfilling the Scripture by loving our neighbors as ourselves, we are doing well.
James’s words require that we have a change of mindset. We have to stop thinking about what people look like on the outside, or even how they talk, act, etc., and start seeing them the way that God sees them: as people created with value, and worth, whom He loves deeply enough to die for.
There’s two things that James says that help us make this shift in mindset. The first is in verse 6, “But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?” With this, James reminds us that if we were to judge, the outside of a person certainly wouldn’t be the thing to judge. Why? Because what a person appears to be on the outside is rarely who they are.
James uses the example of the poor man and the rich man, that the rich man is the one who will oppress you and take you to court. We can rarely, if ever, tell what a person’s personality is like just by looking at them. Because this is true, it’s important that we make that shift in mindset away from looking at the exterior to measure a person’s value, or worth, or character. 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that the Lord looks at the heart, and we would be wise to do the same.
This requires time and effort. Getting a look at the heart of people takes a relationship, and it certainly requires giving more of ourselves than we might be willing to give sometimes. But, getting to know who a person truly is through a relationship with them is the only way to get the measure of a person. Since James asks us to make this shift in mindset, we are required to set aside snap judgments made in a moment and switch them out for relationships that are intentionally nurtured for seasons of life.
The second thing that James pinpoints that will help us make the shift in our mindset to not judge a person’s exterior is found in verse 13, “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” Mercy triumphs over judgment.
It’s true that God is both merciful and just. He is capable of being both at the same time, in equal measure. His mercy is perfect and so is His justice, and the two are never in competition with one another. But we are not God. We struggle to balance mercy and justice. Our mercy is imperfect, and so is our justice. Now, I am just speaking for myself, but I find that my default is for my desire for justice to be much stronger than my mercy, harshly so. This is perhaps why James makes the statement that mercy triumphs over judgment.
From what we’ve seen of James’s book so far, he had a decent grasp on the human condition. He knew well how we think and tend to act. I see that James was cautioning his readers that since we cannot perfectly balance justice and mercy like God can, then we should strive to let our mercy be greater than our judgment. It never hurts to err on the side of mercy.
James even says that those who do not show mercy will find that their final judgment will be without mercy. So, to help us make that shift in mindset, when we become aware that an attitude of judgment has entered our hearts and minds, we must try to replace that with mercy.
When thoughts of judgment come, replace them with these verses and meditate on them:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36
“Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you]; Bind them [securely] around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:3, AMP
“A merciful person does himself good,” Proverbs 11:17
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” Matthew 5:7
So, James has stern words of warning against snap judgments of others, of creating distinctions that keep us from treating others with the same love that God has given to us, of favoritism that makes any person better than another. To combat this, James says we should curtail our judgments by developing deep relationships with others so our love and care is genuine, and by erring on the side of mercy.
1. Have you ever found yourself showing favoritism in the church? What were the circumstances? What might you have done differently?
2. Do you tend to be more judgmental, or more merciful? Why do you think that is?
3. Pick one of the mercy verses (Luke 6:36; Proverbs 3:3; 11:17; or Matthew 5:7) to meditate on this week, anytime that you find yourself making snap judgments that would lead to favoritism. Focus on that verse, write it on a card, create an image and save it on your phone. Find a way to keep that verse with you all week to turn to, and practice having that shift in mindset.