James 2: 1-4
Prejudice. Discrimination. Favoritism. These are words that most of us wish didn’t exist in our culture. There are many who presuppose that these are realities of a bygone era buried beneath years of victorious struggle and sweeping legislation only to discover that branches were severed and roots left firmly intact.
Prejudice is something we all have to deal with. We all have ideas and opinions in our minds that have been formed independent of exposure to what we hold opinions about, yet there they are – the seedbed from which motivation springs forth.
True equality can only be realized in Christ as we give up our identity and discover our true uniqueness in Him. As we begin to see people as He sees them it forms our opinions and treatment of others and removes false barriers such as race and class and allows us to deal with people individually and not with the tainted spectacles of labels and stereotypes.
Jesus’ entire ministry was centered on removing false barriers that inhibited unity. In John chapter 4 he purposely sends his disciples away to buy meat because of an ensuing controversial encounter with a Samaritan woman. He expertly removed her boundaries on equality for women, ethnic superiority, and true worship.
James challenges us in similar fashion and places our biases under the vision-correcting scrutiny of true faith in Jesus. If you believe what Jesus taught and did, your faith does not include prejudice and does not provide room for favoritism due to a preferred demographic. Don’t think you can show favor to who you think God has favored and expect favor from God. Material blessings don’t necessarily represent the favor of God. It could be the exact opposite – independence from God.
Rich or poor? Equal.
Black or white? Equal.
Equal. Identical. Same.
Photography: @mattglenn