Warning against discrimination

James 2:1-4 (The Message)

My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?

One Sunday morning years ago I was teaching a Bible study on James 2.  Prior to the day of that study, I asked a friend not to shave for a few days, not comb his hair, dress like a bum and come into my class late, and act like he was drunk.  He came through for me, looked liked a complete bum when he stumbled into this classroom filled with 30 or more adults.  I surveyed the faces of those in the classroom and sure enough saw looks of dismay, annoyance, and even horror.  Then as we read this passage from James, I asked for honest feedback about first impressions and thoughts about the appearance and demeanor of my bummed-out friend.  While many people wouldn’t admit anything, others were candid about their less than favorable first impressions with some bordering on being negatively judgmental

Why do people quickly show favoritism and judge others on the basis of appearance, be it height, weight, skin color, beauty vs. ugliness, hair style, clothing, jewelry, physical handicap, etc.?  Is not a main basis of materialism to impress others because of the reality of judging others and materialists want to be judged favorably?  James is writing about the sin of partiality that must not be part of the character of a faithful Christian person.  Christians tend to forget or ignore this teaching.  You see this every Sunday where most people congregate before and after services with those they know and barely look or acknowledge strangers.  And, woe to the stranger who does not look good, or dress nicely, or comes from a different culture or ethnicity compared to the usual church crowd.  Often such actions and responses are not necessarily intentional or antagonististic; it’s just the way we are programmed in the natural world.  However, for others, there is intentional dislike and unfriendliness and opposition to those who do not fit a certain code of appearance and background expectation. 

James warns Christians against showing favoritism or discrimination.  Christian love is supposed to be unconditional and sacrificial.  In our pursuit of Christlike character, we are not “to look at the outward appearance, but look at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).  No, we are not God, but we can pursue to be like God (Matt 5:48, John 17:20-23, Rom 8:14-18, Eph 3:19).  The mature Christian is someone who looks at others and does not judge on outward appearance.  This is a good measure of your own maturity in Christ---how much favoritism towards other people still exists in your life?  How willing are your to interact with poor, ignorant, ugly, handicapped, and other kinds of people who Jesus described as “the least of these (Matt 25:40)?  How willing are you to go to hospitals, nursing homes, shut-ins, prisons, and other places where the “least of these” are found? 

The next time you see people in your church who you don’t know and who is not wearing nice clothes or otherwise does not look physically attractive, will you ignore them or will you make the effort to show Christian love toward them?  Your action/reaction will be your indicator of your true Christian character.  Do you tend to cater to people who can help you or cater to those to whom you can help?  Does God see you playing favorites?