Love is...Blind

2 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 you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:1-13


In this passage, James addresses a timeless issue of the human condition....an attitude of favoritism.  As old as history itself, James faced the same matter that churches and you and I and everybody else have to guard against today.  Favoring one group over another.  Preferential treatment for the such and such's or so&so's.  James calls it judgment.  And he warns us not to do it.


So let's unpack this passage...........



Predicament
In verses 1-3, James explains the predicament - preferential treatment based on superficial values.  Here, it's rich over poor but it could be lots of other things.  Position.  Skin color.  Gender. Belief system.  Anytime we base a person's value on something other than what God values, we find ourselves in this same predicament....an attitude of favoritism.


In verses 4-7, James explains the Problem that causes this predicament -our value system is different than God's.


Problem
The Greek word for "judge" is "krino" - it means to separate into categories ,to make distinctions among,  to cause a division between the parts.  It's like deciding what something is and slapping a label on it so as to know what to do with it then.  Only the "something" is a "someone" and the "it" is a "who".
And when we do it, it's because we have an agenda.....James is a bit more harsh with his words - he says we have evil motives.
Gulp.
I think James is right. 
We are inclined to treat people in ways that we believe will benefit ourselves.
So we assess someone else's value.  And then determine if their label could offer an advantage to our own position.  If so, we are tempted to adjust our behavior in a way that leverages the other person's assets.


And James just shakes his head at us, warning us that we are deceived.  He knows the principle from Proverbs 29:5 applies  A man who flatters his neighbor Is spreading a net for his steps.  By trying to gain favor from people we think can give us an advantage, we are actually setting a trap for ourselves.


The only One qualified to determine a person's value is God, the Only Righteous Judge. 


And the basis of His acceptance is.......Mercy.


Not some superficial issue like skin color or position or net worth.
Mercy.


So what's the Prescription for the Problem that causes this Predicament of preferential treatment?


James writes out the Divine Remedy in verses 8-11.
The Royal Law.


Loving one's neighbor as one's own self.


Instead of favoritism which is loving one's neighbor  in order to help one's own self.


Failure to keep the Royal Law is a serious matter and James reminds us of that.  In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus explains that all of God's Holy Word can be boiled down to just a couple of principles:


But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets

Love God....and Love Others.  As much as we love ourselves.


That's the prescription that will heal the problem.  And that will get rid of the predicament.
Wow.  That's powerful stuff.


One more thought.


Depending on how well we live out the Royal Law, James has a Prognosis for our lives.  Verses 12, 13. These are definitely worth repeating as we close out today....So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.


Anybody you need to show some mercy to today? 


The evaluation of your life depends on it.


Wow.

Helpful tip for Mommies and Memory work

I have some really brilliant friends.  And I love it when they share their ideas with me.


And I love passing them on to you!


Here's one from my brilliant friend Brionne that will help you help your kids memorize Scripture:


Once a week (Thursdays after AWANA verses the night before) she writes her kids' upcoming memory verses on their bathroom mirror.  With dry erase marker.  They see this at least twice a day, she says, when she brushes their teeth.


And they get those verses memorized over a whole week. 

Instead of cramming them in on Wednesday afternoon.  Like somebody I know........


It's  a great idea.  I hope you'll try it.


Aren't you glad I have brilliant friends??? 


I love sharing their ideas and I'd love to pass yours along, too.


Oh, btw.  Just in case you're wondering.  She's not only brilliant.........she's beautiful as well.





I'm still marveling over the fact that she gets four kids' teeth brushed TWICE A DAY.

Looking in the mirror

Do you ever slap yourself on the forehead and say "I knew better than that!!"?  I surely do!  I cannot count the times that I hear a sermon or read a passage of Scripture or just plain remember a Truth and think - "I used to do that right but somewhere along the line, I've stopped".  Or I find myself repeating the same commissions or omissions over and over again.


How does that happen to us?


Well, basically,


we're human!


And humans forget.  Like James tells us
 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing


Just like I look in the mirror everyday to check my hair and makeup before I leave the house.  More than once, if I have time!  And then, based on what I see, I adjust.  And tweak.  And look again.  Because I can't remember what I look like from one glance to the next!


It's the same with our spiritual life.  God's Word is the mirror that we look into in order to know what we look like spiritually.  And, based on what He shows us, we adjust and tweak and look again.  And what helps us remember what we saw is to obey what He shows us to do.  Being a doer, not just a hearer - or a looker !!


I love what the word "intently" means in Greek - it means to stoop down and focus.  Isn't that powerful?  We don't need to merely read God's Word - we need to humble ourselves and examine how to apply what it means to live it out.  It means being willing to let the Word show us where we need to adjust.  And then to obey it.  That's what helps us remember.


This mirror of God's Word that we are to look into isn't just another law to follow.  Thankfully not.  Rather it is the perfect law...the law of liberty. 


What does that mean - a law...of liberty?  Seems contradictory.


Except that it's not.


The perfect law is the Gospel of Christ.  He fulfilled every point of God's law  - which we can't do - and, in so doing, He set us free from our inability to keep it.  God counts His perfection as ours...and then He abides within those who believe in Him and transforms us into people who look like Him.  Not immediately, to be sure.  But, little by little, as we obey Him -- being an effectual does and not just a hearer of His Word -- we grow in our likeness to Him.  Blessed in what we do.

It's Nike Time

James 1:21-22


²¹ Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves


We spend an awful lot of time trying to fix ourselves.  An awful lot of energy and money, too.  And I don't mean physically (although that's true as well!) but I mean emotionally, relationally, psychologically.  Even though we are slow to admit it, I think deep down we know that much of what's wrong in our lives has to do with the fact that we are broken people.  People that "need fixing".


Trouble is, we don't know how to do it.


I think this verse tells us.


When James uses the phrase "save your souls", I don't believe he is referring to the establishment of a relationship with Christ.  Rather, I think he is explaining the "working out" of our salvation - the sanctification process whereby Christ-followers are transformed (slowly as it may be!) into the image of Christ. 


It's about "fixing ourselves". Making whole and healthy the parts of us that are broken.


Our self-image.  Our relationships.  Our speech.  Our attitudes.  Our priorities. Our treatment of others.  Our use of resources. Our own selves.


Here's what James says:


1. Putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness- Get rid of the wrong stuff.  Take personal responsibility (as in, it's not your parents' fault or your mate's fault or your boss's fault or your circumstances' fault) and get rid of the things in your life that don't line up with holiness. 
2.  In humility - have a correct assessment of yourself.  Not only take personal responsibility but also see yourself in desperate need of God's grace.  That becomes the point at which He showers His favor upon you --- when you realize and acknowledge your need for it.
3. Receive the word implanted - The Word was implanted in you when you trust Christ for salvation.  Now you need to embrace it.  "Receive" means to embrace and accept like an organ transplant.  Let it become part of you.  Mediate on The Word.  Memorize it.  And then,
4. Mind it.  Prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. As you study the word and learn what God tells you to do, then, well, just do it.  Nike Time.  Just do it.
Obey what He shows you.


That's what transforms you.  Changes you.  Fixes you.  Saves your soul.


It's Nike Time, y'all - just do it!

Don't get mad...get quiet?

James 1:19-20


¹⁹ Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰ for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.


The context for this passage is the topic of trials.  Pretty safe to say, then, that it applies to each of us every day....we're either in the midst of a trial, just coming out of a trial, or headed into one soon!  So, it's pertinent.


What counsel does Brother James have for us?

1.  Be quick to hear.


There's a difference between "listening" and "hearing".  We can "listen" for the sound of the whistle but until it reaches our ears and conveys the message to our brains, we haven't "heard" it.  Same is true for the sounds around us.  James is telling us to "hear" what is said in such a way that we comprehend the message.  Sound advice. 

Quick to hear whom?


God, first of all.  In the midst of life, He is speaking to us.  In our pleasure, He whispers "be grateful and know that all good gifts come from Me".  In our concern, He urges us to trust Him.  In our pain, as CS Lewis puts it, God "shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
We must be attentive to what He is saying.  Quick to hear.


Also, we must hear those around us.  May we not presume we know what they are saying before we hear their words!  Proverbs 18:13 declares If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. 
Many many times conflict could be avoided if we would be quick to hear what another is saying rather than assuming we know already.


2.  Be slow to speak.
The Greek word for "slow" here implies control. Not slow as in lackadaisical or negligent but rather managed, regulated, disciplined.
Wow.  What a difference that kind of speech can make!!
Just think about what Proverbs 10:19 says - When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. 
          

Proverbs 12:18 explains why we should be controlled in speech - Rash words are like sword thrusts

Ouch.  We've all been the victim of sword jabs like these.

And we've all dispensed a few to others, as well.

                   
3. Be slow to anger.
Proverbs 16:32  tells us why it's profitable to be slow to anger             

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city

But what else do we need to know about anger?

Mainly, that anger is not a sin.  It's a emotion.  It's like an indicator light on the dashboard of my car - when it starts flashing, it's a sign to check under the hood.

Same with anger.  When that emotion surfaces, we need to check our hearts and see what's going on in there.

Anger isn't the sin -- it's the response of our souls when what we want to be is not achieved.  Aristotle defined anger as "desire with grief".   We want something (might be comfort or pleasure or significance).  And something -- or someone -- blocks the reaching of that goal.

Result -- anger.

No, anger isn't the sin..... but what we do with it can be.

So James urges us to be slow in what makes us angry, be controlled in how we handle it. When that light is flashing, check under the hood.  What is at the root of this emotion?  Is it a right desire?  Or a selfish one?  After that introspection, then we can ask God what we should do about it. 

Oh, and then we should be quick to hear!

In the remaining verse, James reminds us that anger won't fix the problem we're trying to solve.  Because underneath every desire, every longing, every wish is really a soul that needs the righteousness of God.  And nothing else will satisfy.