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.
Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
