The Least of These- Day 1

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?  Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?  But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?  Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

James 2:1-9

Discrimination.  Usually when we hear that word we think of race, gender, or sexual orientation.  Those are the three types of discrimination we hear about most often in our culture.  It makes us mad when people discriminate because of their skin color.  People get upset when women are treated unfairly in the workplace.  The news media has a hayday when companies or groups discriminate against people who choose a homosexual lifestyle.

But how often do we think about discrimination when it comes to the poor?  Have you ever really thought about what it would be like to be poor, oppressed, homeless or struggling and have people look at you, passing judgment constantly?  Think about if we had two guests walk into our youth group one night.  One was dressed in trendy clothes and was friendly and attractive.  The other was dressed in secondhand clothes, looked a little disheveled and seemed shy and intimidated.  Who would you gravitate towards?  Who would feel more welcome? 

In these scriptures, James is calling us Christians out in the way we favor some people over others.  He says, "if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin."  It's not enough just to be nice to everyone.  If favoritism is in the picture at all, it's sin.  

Take a moment today and reflect on the way you view others: at school, at church, at work.  Do you discriminate against the poor?  Do you make fun of them?  Do you pass judgement on them?  Or do you love and treat them just like you would someone who was wealthy and popular?

Check out this video about a resource called "The Locust Effect" to learn more about the poor and their struggle to get out of poverty.