Sunday School Lesson For Aug. 10, 2008

IMPARTIAL DISCIPLES -

James 2:1-13

BACKGROUND:
I recall many years ago a conversation with a new car salesman. He was relating a story he declared never to forget. He said that one day a man walked into the showroom and began looking at the most expensive automobile in the building. The salesman said he didn’t pay the man too much attention at first because he was so poorly dressed. And when the man decided on his own that he wanted to buy the car, he announced that he had to go to the bank and get the money. The salesman said he still didn’t complete the paperwork because he just didn’t think that unkempt man could afford such a nice automobile. However a few hours later the man returned, cash in hand, and asked for the keys to “his” car...

But that is what happens all too often in our society – especially in religious circles. It is the question of being impartial. Why should we be impartial? Because we as humans are limited to being able to see a persons outward appearance, and that is not enough information to make an intelligent decision. It is to this subject that James speaks in today’s lesson...

UNHOLY DISCRIMINATION (James 2:1-7)
James wastes no time in getting to the point. He raises the issue of “respect of persons”. All too often how a person appears on the outside goes a long way in determining his destiny. Society has taught us that we must look impressive in order to get ahead in life. It is a fact that how a person dresses may well help determine whether he will get that job for which he is being interviewed. In fact, we are so completely surrounded by that “outward appearance” standard that it has found its way into our churches...

James uses verses 2-4 to illustrate a point. Here are two men coming to church. One is dressed in the finest attire, while the other is virtually in rags. They are apparently visitors, or they would have their own “seat”. The question arises concerning how to accommodate the pair. They are in no way dressed alike, so the assumption is that they aren’t “together”. Further, the one with the fine apparel is in the eyesight of a member deserving of special treatment, so the member – who is probably not an usher – offers the well-dressed man his seat. Then he turns to the poorly dressed man and gives him the unhappy choice of standing or sitting on the floor...

Now this may be something of an exaggeration on James’ part, but it does bring home the point. How many times have we seen persons with degrees in medicine, science or some other field unrelated to religion be placed in prominent positions in our churches because of those degrees? How many times have we known of persons who had much wealth being appointed to high positions based solely on their wealth?

To us, James raises the question: “Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?”

Look now at verses 5-7. God clearly looks beneath one’s outer appearance to that which is hidden deep inside in places that man cannot see. What happens as a result is that God sometimes appears to choose the poor over the rich. In truth, He is choosing the “pure in heart”, and that often turns out to be the “poor”. This creates something of a hazardous situation for Christians. Because we cannot see a person’s heart, we can judge only from the outside – leaving us open for grave error in judgment. That means the safest thing for man to do is to simply leave the judging to God...

ROYAL LAW (James 2:8-13)
Since we as mere humans should NOT be in the business of judging, then what SHOULD we do in connection with our relationship with others? James points us back to Leviticus 19:18 and to the words of Jesus (Matthew 22:36-40). It is indeed a full time job loving our neighbors as ourselves (especially considering that our neighbor is anyone with whom we come in contact). There is also the consideration that to love ALL our “neighbors” as ourselves compels us to love ALL our neighbors EQUALLY...

Of course this practice would virtually eliminate those “inner circles” in our church congregations, since the fact of an inner circle itself implies preferences of some persons over other persons. This “preference” business is responsible for untold grief in churches throughout the universe....

A

Thank you, Assassin!

The real problem is that our brains are hard-wired to generalize and to apply generalizations in specific instances. We really can't take the time to get to know everyone as well as we need to in order to make an appropriate decision, so it's economical to apply generalizations. That's how people engage in the sort of prejudice shown in that story. Actually, I think they left out the part about how the unkempt purchaser was arrested, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed on the assumption that someone like that had no legitimate basis for having the cash, and charged him with attempted money laundering before they found out he was the president of the local bank and had just been mowing his lawn that day.

We don't need to apply generalizations in specific instances. I think what James is saying is that we don't need to make judgments about other people at all, and we need to be able to take people as they come, and evaluate them based on our own experience with them. It isn't our job to worship Christ, it is our job to BE Christ - and that means to extend Jesus' prophetic work in demonstrating God's love for us while we were still wretched sinners, by reflecting that love to others. And if we're engaged in self-deceptive prejudical exclusion, we're not doing love.

I think there's more substance per pound in that letter than anywhere else. Short, to the point, and a quick and easy read. That letter is Applied Christianity 101.

Hi David, as usual a great lesson.