James 2:1-7
Watching the news clips covering protests and rioting over the racial tensions and injustices in our world, took me back to an experience when I was a young man. I was 15 in the summer of 74, and was picked to play for a basketball team that would represent my home city in a competition with an American city: Flint, Michigan. This was my first experience with racial discrimination. My team consisted of all white kids and the Flint team consisted of all black kids. On an August weekend, hundreds of youth travelled from Hamilton, Ontario, to Flint, Michigan, for the 17th annual CANUSA Games. We boarded in the homes of players from the Flint team. Our first game was on Saturday and in the evening, there was a big party for all the athletes. After the party, my host and I walked home joined by his best friend, who started throwing stones at stores along the way. He broke a window, and alarm went off, we started running and less than a minute later we were picked up by the local police, both were white. They immediately separated us. I don’t know what they asked the other guys, but they asked me, “who of the other two broke the window?” I don’t remember what I said. I was terrified. But I know that I didn’t give up the guilty party. And yet, the police put the handcuffed the offender in the police car and let us go with a strict warning to not chum around with bad people and go straight home. That evening, my host treated me with contempt and the next day, I took a beating on the basketball court by the opposing team, falsely assuming that I had snitched on their friend. They had assumed that I had collaborated with the white cops by exposing the offender in order to save my own neck. That was my first real experience with discrimination. I found out a few years later, that the reason the cops chose the culprit was because he already had a record of numerous previous crimes.
At the time it was a terrifying experience; and thinking about it still brings me grief.
- Discrimination is a terrible thing! What we have observed the past few weeks has revealed a problem that has festered in human society throughout all ages.
- Discrimination is defined as treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of or against, a person based on the group, class, or category to which that person belongs rather than on individual merit.
- Discrimination involves determining a person’s worth based upon externals or appearances.
- James states very clearly in chapter 2 that this is wrong.
Main point: Discrimination is inconsistent with the life of a follower of Jesus Christ.
- James is not making a suggestion or giving advice; he is stating an emphatic command: “Show no partiality!” “Don’t show favouritism!” “Don’t ever attempt to combine snobbery with faith!”
- Faith in Jesus Christ and favouritism toward people are mutually exclusive.
- James directs our focus to “our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” Why? Because we have a tendency to glory in lesser things; to place value and worth on insignificant things. We are tempted to be distracted by the temporal and artificial glory of things and people.
- The glory of Jesus Christ is his unchanging essence, his eternal beauty, his infinite greatness and goodness.
- The glory of man is fragile, failing and fading; changing with each passing day. Our bodies are destined for the grave – worm food; our beauty is fading; our minds and abilities are weakening; our possessions are wearing out or rusting away.
- And yet we are tempted to ascribe special worth to these things and people.
2:2-3, James gives an example of how this discrimination can happen among Christians. It’s Sunday morning worship service, and the building is fairly full with worshippers. In walks a person wearing the best clothing and jewellery; possibly well-known in the community as a successful business man or a person of celebrity. The usher says, “Welcome to First Church! We’ve got reserved seating for you.” And he leads him to a place among the crowd that he will be recognized by all who are present. A few minutes later, another man enters, obviously poverty-stricken: his clothing is worn-out and filthy, he’s accompanied by a foul odour; possibly well-known as the town drunk or drug addict. The usher says, “Well, as you can see, we’re at full capacity this morning, you’ll have to stand at the back against the wall.” - Both men are in need of spiritual life!
- The only difference between them are externals: clothing, personal hygiene, social status, possessions, achievements or race.
- The Christians of that assembly show favour to the rich man and ignore the poor man.
- James exhorts, “You are guilty of showing partiality. That’s wrong! Your standard of evaluating people and making distinctions is faulty.”
- Then as if to answer the obvious question, “Why?” he gives us three reasons why discrimination is a contradiction for followers of Jesus Christ:
1. When we show discrimination, we become judges with evil thoughts. (v.4b)
- When we label or classify people, we elevate ourselves as judge and jury, declaring information that is exaggerated, partial, insignificant, and sometimes untrue.
- “evil thoughts.” This is a serious accusation that James is making. A judge whose thoughts are evil, can never be impartial. The judgments that he makes are a farce. The justice that he serves is false.
- Justice has been depicted as a blindfolded woman who holds scales in her hand. The blindfold prevents her from seeing anyone, so that she is able to serve impartially the cause of justice.
- When I was called to jury duty, I was asked questions by the lawyers about my preferences toward certain groups or classes of people. They wanted to determine if I was fit to make impartial judgments; that my personal preferences were not skewed by prejudice.
- Christians who show favouritism are guilty of valuing a person based on appearance, performance, position, possessions and power. James says that’s evil!
1. When we show discrimination, we become judges with evil thoughts.
Second reason why discrimination is perilous for followers of Jesus Christ:
2. When we show discrimination, we use the wrong criteria. (v.5)
“Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.” I wish we could grasp the tone of James words: he’s pleading, begging. This is no trivial matter. It’s critical that we get this straight.
“Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?” YES!
- The Bible declares clearly that God chooses to offer his grace not on the basis of merit, rather on the basis of his own love for people.
- Don’t be mistaken, there is no merit in poverty, that’s not the point here. The point is that there is no human merit. The value is in the love that God freely gives to people. The Lord doesn’t love you and me because we are lovable and lovely. He loves us because he is love.
- The Lord is no respecter of persons. His sun shines and rain fall on the rich and the poor; on the farmer who has faith and the farmer who is an atheist.
Proverbs 22:2, “The rich and the poor meet together, the Lord is maker of them all.” - In God’s eyes, all humans are sinners and in desperate need of his mercy and grace.
- But when God comes to us and sets his love upon us, we are able to love him and others.
John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” - By God’s grace, we have been brought into his eternal life and become children in his forever family.
- The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were guilty of discrimination and labelling. On one occasion, Jesus rebuked them, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24). They were using the wrong criteria for discernment and therefore came to wrong conclusions about people.
- God is concerned with our hearts. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. He’s looking for repentance and faith; a soul that is broken and in desperate need of his help.
- That is a great comfort to me, because I fit this category. It’s not exclusive; it includes all who call upon him.
1. When we show discrimination, we become judges with evil thoughts.
2. When we show discrimination, we use the wrong criteria.
Third reason why discrimination is perilous for followers of Jesus Christ:
3. When we show discrimination, we are living the same way as the ungodly. (vs.6-7)
- Selfishness breeds contempt, injustice, hatred and brutality. This is the way of the world.
- God chooses the broken and poor in this world; God help us if we despise them!!
- God does not discriminate his love towards the privileged and popular. That’s the way of the world.
- Jesus’ way was to love others, despite who they are or what they have done to us.
- James is saying, “Open your eyes, look at the reality of this matter, look at the manner of the world, it’s not at all God’s way.”
- James askes 3 rhetorical questions:
“Who exploits you?” “Who drags you into court?” “Who slanders the name of Christ?” - It’s the ungodly! Those who don’t live for God, but for themselves.
- James uses a play on words to stress his point here: he contrasts the blasphemy and contempt that the world has for Christ with the “honourable name by which you were called.”
- In doing this he brings us back full circle to the object of our focus and faith, the Lord Jesus Christ; God’s glory, not our own gain.
- We must look at everyone through the eyes of Christ: he wasn’t influenced by race, class, possessions, achievements. He saw his glory revealed in their transformed lives, ultimately redeemed by his side for all eternity.
- Jesus Christ is the link between us and others. Christ died for us all and our desire is that every life might be transformed into the likeness of Christ, despite who they are and what they have done.
Discrimination is inconsistent with the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. See every person through the eyes of Christ and treat every person with the love of Christ. The ground is level at the foot of his cross.