The Book of James – Part 3
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 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?”
With this admonition, it becomes clear that James’ concern over treatment of the poor and rich in the church is not a passing issue. While it can be argued that he was addressing a specific, contextual concern, that the letter is addressed so widely suggests that the writer is confronting a more universal problem facing the all Christian communities. Is it any surprise that the Book of James has caused such controversy in Church history?
In the NASV, the first line of this section is translated as: “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.” It is clear from this that favouring some people in the church according to their financial and/or social capital is not only wrong, but contrary to our submission to the Lordship of Christ. At stake in this is our very role as disciples. The word “discriminated” is the same word used in James 1:6, there translated as “doubt”. This suggests that when we discriminate according wealth in the church, we are choosing to evaluate or question, rather than obey, God’s will. It is for God alone to judge, and in His eyes, we are all equal (both created in His image & fallen short of His glory through sin). Faith in our “glorious” Lord is such that we His is the only glory worth favouring.
“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? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”
Here we are clearly reminded of the Lucan Beatitude, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”. Together, we can clearly see that Matthews “poor in spirit” was not completely unrelated to material poverty. While God does not wish poverty on anyone, He knows that in it that pretense is lost, exposing our absolute dependency- a dependency hidden by the shallow security and power of material wealth.
James is not suggesting that all rich people are somehow bad (as almost all of us in Western Christianity qualify as rich), but rather that, more often than not, those of us with privilege and power are too easily drawn into lifestyles of injustice, sometimes explicitly, but all too often in subtle, but devastating ways. Rather, he is reminding us that true freedom, true obedience is through relinquishing all of our selves to God. It is this commitment, demonstrated in this very clear example, that embodies Jesus call to “love your neighbour as yourself”.
Again, it might be quite easy for us to make light of such favourtism. No example of this was more clear to me than at the funeral of Mother Teresa, where dignitaries and world leaders were given prime seating while the poor, while present, remained in more manageable areas. All kinds of good reasons could be given for these decisions, but I believe they were contrary to Christ’s teachings and Mother Teresa’s will. It is all too easy for us to make similar expressions of favourtism. Do you rewards those who give more to the church or ministry? Are you more likely to reorganized to accommodate the needs of the “haves”? Does your faith community even have representation of a truly diverse socio-economic group? These failings breech God’s intention, no less sin than murder and adultery.
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
Again, it is not for us to judge. It is God who will judge us all and, thankfully, it is mercy and grace that will triumph in our judgment, for we all would otherwise perish. How then can we judge the value of others in the community? We must radically embrace the equalizing grace and love of Jesus Christ. To do so is to actively celebrate and incarnate the truth of God’s saving grace for all creation.
