AVOID PLAYING FAVORITES (4 OF 13)
by Scott Maze
Scripture: James 2:1-13
This content is part of a series.
Avoid Playing Favorites (4 of 13)
Series: Balance: A Study of the Book of James
Scott Maze
James 2:1-13
When he was a student, the famous Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, considered becoming a Christian. He read the Gospels and was moved by them. It seemed to him that Christianity offered a solution to the caste system that plagued the people of India. One Sunday, he went to a local church. He had decided to see the pastor and ask for instruction on the way of salvation. But when he entered the church, which consisted of white people, the ushers refused to give him a seat. They told him to go and worship with his own people. He left and never went back ''If Christians have caste differences also,'' he said, ''I might as well remain Hindu'' ( ''Our Daily Bread,'' [Feb., 1979]).
Whether we like it or not, everyone of us is naturally prejudice. Because of our natural bents and upbringing, each one of us races toward certain conclusions when we see another. This morning we need to defuse that kind of faulty thinking and probe our own spirits of prejudice.
Today's Scripture
''My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 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, 3 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,'' 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 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? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If ...
Series: Balance: A Study of the Book of James
Scott Maze
James 2:1-13
When he was a student, the famous Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, considered becoming a Christian. He read the Gospels and was moved by them. It seemed to him that Christianity offered a solution to the caste system that plagued the people of India. One Sunday, he went to a local church. He had decided to see the pastor and ask for instruction on the way of salvation. But when he entered the church, which consisted of white people, the ushers refused to give him a seat. They told him to go and worship with his own people. He left and never went back ''If Christians have caste differences also,'' he said, ''I might as well remain Hindu'' ( ''Our Daily Bread,'' [Feb., 1979]).
Whether we like it or not, everyone of us is naturally prejudice. Because of our natural bents and upbringing, each one of us races toward certain conclusions when we see another. This morning we need to defuse that kind of faulty thinking and probe our own spirits of prejudice.
Today's Scripture
''My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 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, 3 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,'' 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 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? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If ...
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