James 2:1-7

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.  For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?  But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?  Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

Oppressed people are usually challenged to find resources for even basic survival.  Christians in the early church were persecuted by both the Romans and the Jews.  This left many of them in poverty and lacking necessities for life.  Desperation can make us vulnerable to temptation in the area of partiality to the rich.  These reminders are important to keep in mind.

DO NOT GIVE FAVOR TO THE RICH: Churches usually met in private homes that hosted gatherings of the body of Christ.  These meetings were for prayer, teaching, fellowship, observance of the Lord’s supper, and mutual edification.  The people who gathered in these homes were commonly displaced Jews or newly converted Gentiles.  There was a great deal of need, and the people came together to meet those needs.  A person who clearly had financial means because of the way they were dressed represented additional potential to help the poor and needy.  A person who was obviously poor could easily be seen as a drain of those resources.  This pragmatic way of looking at people or the church is to be avoided.  This judgmentalism has no place in the church and is motivated by evil.  People should never be ignored or favored based on their financial resources.

OBSERVE THE FAITH OF THE POOR: The most precious commodity any church or any believer can ever have is faith.  Love for the Lord and trust in His care is essential for living a life that is pleasing to Him.  Not everyone who is poor is rich in faith and not everyone who is rich is lacking in faith.  However, there is a tendency towards that and in the economy of the church faith is more valuable than money.  Unfortunately, there is a tendency within today’s prosperity gospel culture to believe just the opposite.  Poverty is often equated with a lack of faith while affluence is considered a confirmation of faith.  All believers should be evaluated by the maturity of their faith and not the size of the bank accounts.

REMEMBER THE FACTS ABOUT THE RICH: Most of the persecution of the early church was perpetrated by wealthy people within the Jewish and Roman society.  The poor people were too busy just trying to survive but the influential people of the society saw Christianity as a threat to the system that had made them prosperous.  Certainly, believers are not to retaliate and foster bitterness towards all rich people because some rich people had persecuted them.  The very hosts of the churches where believers gathered were likely people with financial resources.  James is simply striving to remind these early believers that a desire to gain more wealth and influence by favoring the rich was a dangerous practice motivated by evil intents that could easily backfire and only lead to further persecution.

APPLICATION: Treat all people who might visit our church the same independently of their race or financial status.  Consider faith to be of greater value than finances.  Beware of those it society who have power and influence because it can easily be used to hurt the advancement of the Gospel.