A WAY OF SEEING PEOPLE

A WAY OF SEEING PEOPLE James 2:1-7 January 2, 2011 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Whoever said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” was on to something. Art certainly is in the eye of the beholder—and it is also in the heart and hand of the artist, as this Picasso piece illustrates. He certainly had a unique way of seeing people. How do you see people? Do you make quick assessments of them when you first see them? How do you “size up” someone to whom you are introduced? Do you tend to put people you know into categories, or label them in one way or another. Of course you do—we all do. But, going a step further, do the labels you put on someone impact the way you will treat her the next time you see her? Are you sometimes surprised that a person turns out to be quite different from your first impression of him? Much is made of “profiling” in our culture today. Even though everyone “profiles” others in his own heart and mind, how appropriate is it to treat those others in keeping with your personal assessment? We tend to make instant judgments of others by the way they look, how they carry themselves or dress, or by the way they talk. A man from Alabama lamented his southern drawl. He said, “As soon as someone else hear you talk like that, they automatically deduct 30 points from your IQ!” Do you do that? If someone is white does that automatically make you think a certain way of her? If he is black do you resort to a default opinion of him? And if 25 out of 25 apprehended terrorists turn out to be of middle eastern descent, between the ages of 18 and 26, is it wrong to think suspiciously of such people as you are about to climb aboard a plane with them? Are you a “profiler”? Or, if it ever seemed crazy to you when nuns and toddlers are being strip-searched at security points, but some middle easterners move through without any trouble simply because their random number didn’t come up, you might be a bigot. The fact is, we all have opinions about people, owing to our experiences in life, our parents and grandparents, our geographic home and other issues. We really can’t do anything about that. But it does make a difference how we treat people, and how we might let our prejudicial feelings affect our love and concern for them. People are important to God—Jesus said He came to seek and to save the lost. So if you’ve ever wondered about such things as prejudice and profiling, how to love people different from yourself, and discrimination, you’re about to get a little direction from God’s Word. The Holy Spirit picked up James the brother of Jesus one day (metaphorically speaking) and carried him to a place of divine inspiration. There in the midst of that garden of wisdom, he wrote to Christians about “a way of seeing” people that will challenge some of our predispositions, temper our bigotries and teach us to treat other human beings the way Jesus treats them, especially in the body of Christ. One of the most profound prayers I ever heard was when a young missionary prayed that we Christians might come to have the eyes of Christ when we look at the people around us. The key message in James 2:1-7 is that we must come to a right way of seeing people. To do that we need a divine perspective—the ability to see people as God sees people. Divine Perspective My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t who favoritism. Wow! There’s James getting right to the point again! Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby 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? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? We are called, says James, to reject the tendency to see people “humanly,” because we have prejudicial mindsets regarding others based on how they look, sound and smell. We naturally base our impressions of others on outward phenomena like color, dress and other superficialities. Prejudice comes in many forms. James uses a very common one (though we don’t usually think of it as prejudice)—that of giving preference to rich people over poor people. If I like rich people (for whatever carnal reasons) I will naturally tend to favor them, give them special treatment. If I like poor people (perhaps because I am myself poor) I will naturally shy away from rich folks, and will in a sense treat other poor folks preferentially. When we behave on the basis of our natural, carnal mindsets, which are prejudicial to begin with due to environment or training, we cannot act in godly fashion toward others. Acting out of our carnal prejudice, we will prefer the people with the bling over those with the wrinkled clothes every time. When we in the body of Christ give ourselves only to those most like us, we are sectarian at best, and segregationists at worst. James says it this way: You have discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts. When we favor one group—rich or Asian or middle class—for whatever reason, then James says we have insulted those we have ignored. Thus, the body of Christ is segmented, divided, sychophantic, bigoted, judgmental and offensive. Brethren, we did not so learn Christ. And such a church is almost useless as a testimony to the lost world. Unbelievers will look at us and say, “Why, they’re no better than we are! One writer put it caustically: “The most segregated hour of the week is Sunday morning at 10:00.” I remind us who have committed ourselves to Christ that our Lord said, All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. When it comes to societal relationships, and particularly relationships within the framework of the body of Christ, we cannot begin with our carnal assessments of others and act on those prejudices. That carnality always acts from prejudice and with prejudism, and it never achieves fellowship, much less unity. Jesus offers us a “way of seeing” others—a divine perspective with which to view other people that will help us to overcome our natural prejudicial feelings. His perspective is marked by three godly distinctive: 1. It is a perspective of unconditional love If I am black, and I act out of my natural instinct (my carnal mind and heart) I will gravitate to other black folks. There I am most comfortable; there I am most at home. When I do, I necessarily separate myself from white folks. James says I have then offended those whom I have ignored. And if I’m white I will be more comfortable with other white folks, and will tend to mix with them, instead of blending ebony and ivory. Because it is there I am most comfortable. James says that to the degree that I segregate myself I am offending the black brothers. You might be thinking, “Oh, come on, pastor! It’s not that bad! Nobody intends to offend anyone!” You’re right on one point: they don’t usually intend to offend. But on the other point, you’re wrong—it is bad. An open-ended question for us to consider: is a segregated church a better expression of unconditional love and unity than an integrated church? Furthermore, I want to ask another key question at this juncture: What does carnal comfort have to do with Christian love anyway? Our calling in Christ is to demonstrate his unconditional love. Think about it: God loved you no matter how much you sinned against Him, and He proved it. Romans 5:8 says, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. (See 1 John 4:9-11). John 15:12 - My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. If we want to be the church that honors Christ with obedience, we will learn to relinquish the comfort of remaining in our prejudicial preferences, and intentionally reach out to, intentionally love, intentionally include in our circles those who are not like us and those who are not our carnal favorites. 2. A perspective of extravagant grace Another form of prejudicial behavior in churches is what I have come to call “provincialism.” That is when I find it carnally comfortable to sit with, socialize with and thereby “prefer” my familiar friends, to the rejection of others, like newcomers who are uncomfortable because they are new and know no one. We act with prejudice and offend these who have overcome the discomfort of visiting a church where they know no one when we ignore them in deference to hanging around familiar folks. That’s provincialism (staying in our own province). It is uncomfortable and threatening to extend our friendly welcome to visitors (especially if they are not like us—mixing prejudice with provincialism), and yet Christian love demands it of us. I am happy to report that others say this is a fairly friendly church, we can do better. Strangers compliment you folks for your ability to welcome them and make them feel comfortable. So this is not so much a word of correction or rebuke as it comes to this church at large. But many among us need to shake off the shackles of provincialism and more deliberately reach out to others. When we do we will demonstrate extravagant grace. Listen to this wonderful phrase found at Ephesians 1:6 – His glorious grace, which he has lavished on us in the One he loves. We who have received the grace of Jesus Christ ought to be so affected by that awesome grace that we are moved to be gracious to others forever. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4) God exercised extravagant grace in dealing with us; then He called us to extend extravagant grace in dealing with others. Donald Grey Barnhouse told this true story: When Charles Evans Hughes was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, he moved to Washington and transferred his membership to a Baptist church there. It was the custom in that Baptist church to have all new members come forward during the morning service and be introduced to the congregation. On this particular day, the first to be called was a Chinese laundryman, Ah Sing, who had moved to Washington from San Francisco and kept a laundry near the church. He stood at the far side of the pulpit. As others were called, they took positions at the extreme opposite side. When a dozen people had gathered, Ah Sing still stood alone. Then Chief Justice Hughes was called, and he significantly stood next to the laundryman. A Christian who only associates with people of the same intellectual, academic, or professional interests is not living up to what Scripture mandates. We can bypass our carnal tendencies to overlook, ignore and exclude those we are not comfortable with if we will learn to pass along the grace of Christ to others. He who died for us sinners is greatly honored when His children learn to die to themselves and make the effort to bless others outside our comfort zone. It’s all a matter of how we will see others. Will they be nuisances, or intruders, or icky people we don’t want to be involved with; or will they be those to whom God wants us to extend His grace? 3. A perspective of potential, divine plan The scriptures teach us that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The Word also tells us that those whom Christ has saved are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. Do you know what that means? That means anyone—ANYONE—can become a mature believer in Christ. That means the most unimpressive, ugly, different, repulsive person can be an honored servant of the Lord Jesus. It also means we do not have the prerogative to decide who is and who isn’t worthy of His grace through us. We do not have the luxury of telling God who is worthy of His blessing through us. Paul shared his secret for loving and including others. He expressed his perspective on others when he taught we cannot blithely offend another whom he defined as “Someone for whom Christ died.” (1 Cor. 8:11) Any person you see is potentially someone who, if God’s perfect will were done, I will be sharing heaven with.   "He drew a circle that shut me out Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout But love and I had the wit to win; We drew a circle that took him in." Conclusion Jesus came to this world disguised as a poor Jew—a person easy to ignore, an easy object of prejudice. What would you have thought if you had stumbled by that Bethlehem stable that night? Who is it that you would draw out of your circle? Someone who begs for food or drink? Someone who dresses badly and you’d never want to be seen in public with? Someone strange, unfamiliar? A diseased person? A three time loser in prison? They will answer: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” He will reply, “ I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”       [ Back to Top]