Favoritism

Intro

Have you ever been in a situation where someone said something to you that was so ridiculous that you thought they were kidding only to realize that they were being completely serious?

I mean it was completely unexpected or out of character for the person to say it. It kind of floors you a little because you just can’t believe what you just heard.

This happened to me once when I was in college. You see, in college I was highly involved in campus ministry and as such I was also fairly active in a local Church.

And at the time, I had been going to and serving in one particular Church under one particular Pastor that I won’t mention, on his leadership team. There was not a board like we have here. We were purely an advisory team. And at first things were going pretty well.

But over time, Some things started happening and things were being said that were beginning to make me question whether this was the right place for me to be serving or not.

And I can remember one conversation on a Sunday morning between the Pastor and a good friend of mine and fellow college student who also served on the leadership team of this Church. And the conversation was centered around some frustration from the Pastor toward my friend who had missed a couple of Sundays recently.

Keep in mind we were college students who many times would go home on the weekends.

Anyway, my friend was visibly getting upset because he was a pretty faithful attender and served in a couple of different capacities and he was getting ridiculed right before the service started, in front of people no less.

And so my friend, not willing to take the tongue lashing mentioned to the Pastor about another member of the Church’s leadership team who was a wealthy business owner. This individual was very sporadic. He would attend one week, disappear for 3 or more, show up to a leadership team meeting every once in a while, then disappear again.

And in his frustration he ask the Pastor why he wasn’t getting on this guy who had missed a ton of services. And I will never forget what this pastor said.

He asked my friend if he knew how much that other gentleman was giving to the Church? As it turns out he was our biggest giver.

Essentially, the Pastor was giving one person a hard time and questioning his recent whereabouts while giving the other guy a pass for even worse attendance and commitment.

And when I heard the Pastor say this, it was one of those moments where what I just heard come out of this guy’s mouth was so absurd that at first I thought he was joking.... Unfortunately he wasn’t. It wasn’t long after this that I quit attending this Church, as did my friend.

If you are just joining us, today we are beginning part 3 of a message series on the book of James called A Faith that Works.

In this series we are looking at one of the most powerful letters we have written in the New Testament that really describes the importance of not only claiming faith in Jesus, but actually living it out. And in this letter, James is giving some very practical ways in which we can work out our faith in the way we think and act.

Power in the Text

So today I want to talk about what really, the Pastor in my story this morning failed to see in that moment. And I am not saying this to put him down, criticize him, or pass judgment. The truth is, I have lost contact with him and he may be doing really well as a Pastor right now.

I am also not criticizing or ridiculing him because the truth is, what he did, is something that all of us have done and at times are still tempted to do today.

Let’s turn to James 2 to see what I am talking about.

James 2:1 NLT My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

There it is. James gets right to it. Just previously in his letter he warns about temptation and not just hearing the word but doing what it says.

And one might expect that what he has to say next would be instruction or warning of the types of temptations or sinful behavior we need to avoid.

And he does, except that it isn’t the kind of behavior we often think about as being the kind of sin we need to avoid.

We like to go the obvious things like...

sexual sin

adultery

murder

deceitfulness

idolatry.

Instead James mention favoritism or prejudice.

He is saying listen, how are you going to come to this worship meeting and claim to be a Christian, claim to have faith in Jesus if you are going to show favoritism toward some people over others? If you are going to have prejudice towards people?

He is making this statement as if to say, you are fooling yourself if you think you can make distinctions among people and yet still claim to follow Jesus when in reality the only distinctions we have any right to make are between man, and as James says, our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

Why such strong language here? Because God hates favoritism. And why does God hate it, because it is sin.

James goes on to give an example of how they were doing this.

James 2:2-4 NLT 2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

What James is describing here was a very common practice among the Jews of the day. The meeting here he is referencing is at a synagogue. And in those days, if a wealthy or influential person would come in to hear the teaching they would be given a seat of honor up front.

And those who were considered poor, having no influence, or otherwise looked down on in the culture were told to stand in the very back out of sight, or sit on the floor.

Remember that in the early days, Jewish Christians still met in these synagogues, but unfortunately some of these Jewish practices were still going on, even among believers.

James is saying, this can’t be happening because what you are doing is setting yourselves up as judges. And what you are judging is based on who is or is not more important and that comes from the evil motives of our heart.

Big Idea/Why it Matters

Let’s face it, we are in no position to judge who is or is not important or valuable. We can’t because we see things through the eyes of our own sinful nature. So of course when we make judgements about people, they are probably the exact opposite of how God judges value and worth.

In fact we know it is. Look at what James says next.

James 2:5-7 NLT 5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

I have said this before, but God’s kingdom is a backwards kingdom compared to the world. We see it all through his teachings.

first will be last, the last will be first

Strong will be made weak and weak made strong

Greatest will be least, least will be greatest

James says it is the poor the God has chosen to be rich; rich in faith. That the poor are the ones who will inherit the kingdom of God.

James is not saying that the wealthy can’t be saved or have no value, but he is using contrasting language to show that the gospel is easier for the poor to accept because they have so little and depend on God to provide where the rich don’t often see their need for God for they have all they think they need.

And the irony here is that the ones they are fussing all over are likely the very ones who would stomp all over them to get ahead; indicating that their wealth was gained of the backs of people they oppressed.

We do the same thing in Church don’t we?

We see visitors come in and if they look clean cut and put together we tend to be friendlier, more willing to engage, and accepting of them because they fit the mold we have in our minds who is more important.

But if they come in looking different, dressed different, tattoos and piercing all over, hair a color other than blonde, brown, or black, the Church is much less friendly. Yeah maybe to their face we are okay, but as soon as they are gone we start talking and judging based on their appearance.

Or someone comes in with ratty worn out clothes, matted hair, and signs that they have not bathed in a while, then we get even more uncomfortable.

The truth is, Churches say they are a place where all are welcome, but I think if we are honest with ourselves, all might be allowed to come through the door, but not all are made to feel welcomed.

James is showing us that when we do this, we are living in sin.

James 2:8-10 NLT 8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. 10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

Maybe you are not having an affair or maybe you haven’t committed murder or slander or been deceitful. But if you are showing prejudice whether it is based on...

appearance

skin color

socio-economic status

or personal preference

any other factor, then you are just as guilty as someone who has committed adultery. For to not love your neighbor, to break one law, is the same as breaking all of them.

Application/Closing

So what do we do if we are found to be guilty of this?

Ask God to search you heart and expose this sin if you are committing it.

Repent, acknowledge that you have sinned. Don’t make excuses, don’t minimize it.

Second, learn to love others the way Christ has loved us.

We are all deserving of wrath. None of us are good or worthy of Christ’s forgiveness.

He knows every wicked thing we have ever done. He knows every evil thought that has run through our brains.

He sees the things we do and say and think when no one is looking.

Yet he chooses to love us anyway. If Jesus shows no favoritism, then who are we to think we can.

When we truly see people the way God does, it will change our hearts. Only then will we be able to love those that so many in the world have already rejected.