Flushing Out Favoritism

January 2, 2025/
Hope for Today (English)
Hope for Today (English)
Flushing Out Favoritism
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James 2:1-9

Thank you for joining us for this teaching from James chapter 2. As you know, James is a very practical book. When you read something in James, you aren’t usually asking yourself what he means by this. How can we put this into practice? In James, what he means and how we should live is pretty clear. This makes James a powerful book for young or new Christians. He is not complicated, but he is straightforward with his instructions. Today’s lesson is no exception.   

Our title is Flushing Out Favoritism, and James addresses the common human habit of judging by what we see. We all tend to categorize people by what we see on the outside. If someone looks rich, we give them more honor; if they appear poor, we look down on them. This is not God’s way. We can do better. J Mark is here to give us three pointers for living above favoritism.   

In past years, I did some pheasant hunting. A group of hunters spread across the field, advancing slowly, hoping to flush these birds from their hiding place. Sometimes, the birds will sit so tight you walk right by them. Others flush more easily. But when the flush takes place, and the pheasant rises into the air, the hunters aim and try to bag him before he gets out of range. 

In chapter two, James introduces a subject that we must be willing to acknowledge and deal with. What criteria do followers of Jesus use to relate to those God brings into our lives and our local congregations? None of us wants to admit that we show favoritism, but if that were true, we would not need this divinely inspired writing from James. Like the pheasants I mentioned, it may take some concentrated effort to flush out any favoritism in our lives. Therefore, I’ve titled the message “Flushing out Favoritism.”  And our text today is James 2:1-9. This calls for a deep self-reflection, a sincere examination of our hearts and actions. 

1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.  

2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,  

3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”  

4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 

5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?  

6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 

7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 

8 If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well, 

9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  

Our text reveals three REALIZATIONS necessary to “Flush out Favoritism.” 

The First REALIZATION is, 

Faulty Perception 

In our text, James appeals to followers of Christ not to show partiality or favoritism to anyone. And just so we understand, he immediately gives an illustration. If we bring favoritism into the open where we can deal with it, we need to know what it looks like.  

Notice that favoritism often starts with appearance. One man is dressed in costly clothing and wearing a gold ring, a sign of wealth and, perhaps, authority. The other man is a beggar; his clothing is shabby, and maybe he’s dirty.   

Naturally, our attention is drawn to the well-dressed person. Why is he here? Will he become a member and regularly contribute to the offering? What benefits will I receive personally? The ushers quickly make room for him so everyone can appreciate his presence.    

Then there’s the poor man, the beggar. The ushers are embarrassed. Should they offer him a seat? What if he smells bad? Where can they put him so that he’ll offend the least people? Few will notice if they put him in a corner or give him a chair outside the main room.  

Those two scenarios make us uncomfortable. They strike close to home, even though we don’t like to admit it. James says this behavior is judgmental, shows partiality, and demonstrates favoritism. And it is a sin!  

“Why do we respond in the way that James illustrates for us?” It is because we have faulty perceptions. Have you ever heard of astigmatism? In simple terms, it is blurred vision. Things are not focused; they’re not clear. This condition can be corrected by wearing glasses.  

As Christians, our spiritual vision can be blurry. Our sight is tainted by sin. This causes our perception to be faulty. We make the mistake James talks about here. We gauge a person’s worth by physical appearance, mental capabilities, social skills, or financial success.  

We judge based on outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. We look at those who appear successful in a worldly measure and wonder what they will do for our congregation. But those people we thought so attractive and desirable often turned out to be different than we expected. People with wealth and status use those to their advantage in the church and cause leaders to compromise the truth for fear of losing their financial support. That is favoritism, and God is not pleased. 

I’m reminded of Ecclesiastes 9:14-16. “There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city, yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength; nevertheless, the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” Because he was poor, his life-saving solution to the problem was not even remembered. How tragic it is for us to fall into such a trap. 

To show favoritism based on financial success, physical appearance, or one’s position results from faulty perception. We must realize this and be willing to admit our tendency toward faulty perception if we hope to flush out favoritism. 

The Second REALIZATION is, 

Divine Selection 

Let’s remember that there is a different order in God’s kingdom than in the kingdoms of men. In God’s kingdom, the way to be elevated is to humble yourself. The way to greatness is servanthood. The way to become wealthy is to give. The way to be successful is to promote others instead of yourself.  God’s ways are directly opposite of our natural human tendencies.  

James appeals to us by saying, don’t you know that God has chosen those poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith? They may not have much by earthly measurement, but they have a promised inheritance; they are equal sharers in the blessings of His kingdom. And why is it that the followers of Christ are disproportionally poor compared to the rest of society?  

Paul wrote in I Corinthians 1,For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…”  

James says God has divinely selected the poor because they are rich in faith. They understand their poverty of spirit more quickly than the rich. Jesus said to the church at Laodicea, “…You say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing: and know not that you are wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”  

There is a warning to those who are wealthy and powerful. They tend to despise and take advantage of the poor because the poor are often powerless. No one comes to their defense. People experiencing poverty were frequently dragged before the magistrates because they couldn’t pay their debts. Those who wanted their money spoke of their excellent character carelessly. James rebukes those who call themselves Christ-followers and engage in favoritism. We must learn to see life as God sees it. He looks at the heart and chooses those who understand their need for His forgiveness. To flush out favoritism, we must realize that God primarily chooses the poor to be His followers. They have no wealth or position to boast about. Their boast, and ours, should be in the grace of God, who has redeemed us from sin. 

The Final REALIZATION is, 

Careful Direction 

It’s hard to take the statements in the last two verses of the text and make them say something other than what they do. If we live according to the royal law, “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself,” we do well. To do well implies doing something that’s morally acceptable. God approves of those who genuinely love their neighbors as they love themselves. This is not approval for salvation but approval for obedience. 

The second statement is in verse nine. If we favor specific individuals over others because of wealth, position, and the like, we commit SIN. There is no subtle nuance, no ambiguity; if you show favoritism, you are a transgressor of the law, a sinner. 

If you’re like me, you know how you were guilty of violating this command. Let me urge you not to follow your natural tendency to rationalize your behavior and try to excuse your conduct. I assure you that if you take that route, Satan will help you find a justifiable reason for your wrong choices. That will get you and me headed in the wrong direction.  

If there was ever a time needed to exercise clear thinking and be alert to God’s careful direction, it’s today. Satan’s age-old question, expressed in the beginning to Mother Eve, is strongly attracted today; “Did God say that?”  You and I dare not be among those who twist the text’s plain meaning to make it say exactly the opposite. We cannot be among those who pick and choose the parts of God’s Word they want to believe and obey. It is all the Word of God, or none of it is. We must heed God’s clear direction if we will abide by His command. 

Let’s recap the realizations necessary to flush out favoritism. First, we often make decisions based on our faulty perceptions. Our vision is clouded by our sin and our acceptance of the world’s standards of success. Showing favoritism is hurtful to ourselves and others.  

Second, God has divinely selected the poor of this world to be rich in faith. Their faith is rich because it has been tested and has endured. They know what it is like to depend upon God, even for the supply of their daily needs. 

Finally, God calls us to follow His careful direction in obeying His command: ” You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Let’s not try to twist what is stated; let’s be hearers and doers of the Word. If we accept these realizations and apply them in our daily lives, God will show us how to flush out favoritism, deal with it as the sin it is, and find repentance and forgiveness at the foot of the cross.  

Thank you, J Mark, for sharing this teaching with us; as you may have heard, he just reviewed the three realizations. The last one is the one that got me thinking. If we love our neighbors as ourselves, we won’t have this problem of being partial or showing favoritism. It comes back to the foundational teaching of loving God and loving others. Loving others means I treat them like I want to be treated. To do that, I will love them no matter how they look on the outside.  

Thanks so much for joining us. If you want to hear this teaching again or have any questions, here is how to reach us. Email is the best way. Our email is [email protected]. You can also contact us on our website, heraldsofhope.org. Use any or all of these ways to reach us; the important thing for us is hearing from you.  

We leave you with these encouraging words from Jesus, “Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Applying this clear teaching will do away with partiality and favoritism.  

*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.

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