4. THE BOOK OF JAMES.

FAVOURITISM IN THE CHURCH.

Today, we examine the sin of favouritism and the harm it causes. Favouritism is not only found in the Church; it is widespread throughout society, all races, and all countries. James addresses this problem in his Epistle of James.

THE OUTLINE.

We are commanded to show no partiality.

Do not honour the rich over the poor. See verses 5-7.

We must fulfil the Law by loving others.

Yet in today’s society, we still tend to show partiality to people whom we consider more worthy than ourselves.

In I Samuel 16:7 it reads:

“BUT THE LORD SAID TO SAMUEL, ‘DO NOT CONSIDER HIS APPEARANCE OR HIS HEIGHT, FOR I HAVE REJECTED HIM.             THE LORD DOES NOT LOOK UPON THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS UPON THE HEART.”

From this passage, we learn not to judge by mere appearances but to judge the inner man correctly.

The singer who is auditioning for a talent quest, such as. THE VOICE, or AMERICAN IDOL, is judged not only by their voice but also by their “package”, which means how they appear or look in front of people.

Their weight, their hairstyles, and the clothes they wear. And how pretty or handsome and how sexy they appear. Many a modest woman must lower her standards to be acceptable in the sight of worldly Judges… The voice is secondary to appearance. How sad and cruel they are to bypass an excellent singer based on appearance.  The results are devastating, as some budding singers never sing again.

Sadly, this sin of judgmentalism is rife in the Church today, as it was in the time of James.

Ladies, ask yourselves, “Why do I dress up in something new and different each week?”

To gain compliments?

To follow the “Church fashions?”

To fit into the acceptable group?

Or to prove myself and to stand out in the crowd?

People have a bad habit of elevating people based upon external value.

It extends beyond our appearance and encompasses aspects such as race, skin colour, age, gender, wealth, status, where we live, and our employment. It’s called class level and is rated based on your intellectual achievement. A Doctor is honoured above the Council worker.

(I read about a Church that split over the colour of the carpet!)

Particularly in the Book of James, money takes precedence over where one can sit in Church. (How they dressed!)

If you were dressed in shabby old clothes they were considered as poor.

This included slaves, tax collectors, prostitutes, widows and orphans and the generally poor.

People in Churches have the bad habit of elevating a person based upon something external, such as we have previously mentioned: It may be Age, gender, wealth, skin colour, status, or position, the neighbourhood where we live, and family name.

Particularly in the book of James, money took priority over where a person could  sit in the Church.

The poor who dressed in shaggy or worn  clothes were discriminated against.

This disrespect included widows, orphans, the unemployed, and the generally poor.

Hitler in the early 20th Century massacred around 7 million Jews under Natzi Germany, in addition to countless mentally disabled people, older people and those who were not of the Aryan race.

Favouritism is not limited to one race or group of people. It’s a sin that any person from any race or country can struggle with, moreover it is very ugly when it rears its head.

It’s heinous, as it causes neighbours to turn against each other, the rich against the poor. Favouritism can stir up hate and bitterness even in your own family. Read about the story of Joseph and see the consequences of favouritism in that family due to jealousy brought on by the favouritism of one son over his brothers by Jacob, the father.

The Scribes and Pharisees. These teachers of the Law were so interested in keeping the Law and forcing their legalism upon others that they became religious without love and mercy. They caused the crucifixion of Jesus.

Yes, it was prevalent in the time of Jesus. The Jews themselves were extremely prejudiced against women, the Samaritans, tax collectors and all outsiders. Only the educated male Jews were acceptable.

They rejected Jesus, God in the flesh, who walked among them.

Closer to our times, we read of the Roman Catholic Church, which launched Crusades to slaughter Christians.

Then we note how many genocides the Muslims have committed against the infidel Jews to extend their territory by senseless murder.

Today, you can clearly see the antisemitism that is spreading worldwide, which is out to eliminate Jews from the map.

The slogan, “from the river to the Sea,” means that no Jew is worthy to live in their own country and all Jews should be utterly destroyed. Anti-Semitism has again become widespread across the World.

Some Christian Churches will not recognise Israel as God’s chosen people.

On a personal level, consider the current state of today’s churches. Some churches look down upon divorced people, the single mother, the prodigal child or the backslider. 

They shut their doors on Homosexuals instead of winning them to Christ, the One in whom they can truly find their true identity. How many people have left the church and never returned due to legalism and Pharisaical pride?

WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP THIS DESTRUCTIVE ATTITUDE OF …

PARTIALITY? 

Next week we will look at the root Causes as to why we have allowed this thinking to infiltrate the Church and how we can illiminate it.

Amen.

 

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Heather Dalzell SMS 6104 17 545 814

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