it doesn’t make sense

favoritism is unreasonable.  in chapter 2 verses 3-7 (niv), james says favoritism is illogical, it doesn’t make sense – in the first place, he says, GOD has chosen the poor, has not GOD chosen the poor to be rich in faith and inherit the kingdom?

he is not saying that it’s good to be poor and bad to be rich.  he’s not saying that only the poor will be saved.  no.  it doesn’t make any difference to GOD. 

and aren’t you glad that GOD doesn’t check your wallet before he saves you? aren’t you glad your salvation isn’t based on your savings account?

wealth in itself does not deserve any special treatment.  maybe the person got it dishonestly.  your value is not based on your valuables.  don’t confuse your net worth with your self worth. big difference.

i have a $20 watch.  it tells me the same time it tells on a rolex.  i don’t wear a watch to impress people.  i wear a watch to tell time.  i could afford a lot of neat things, but that’s not my priority.  my net worth and my self worth have nothing to do with each other.  i don’t get my strokes by impressing you by wearing certain kinds of clothes or driving a certain kind of car.  it doesn’t matter where you buy your clothes or what you drive; you're welcome here.

it’s illogical he says.  don’t confuse where you get your self worth from.  GOD doesn’t expect you to be wealthy in order to be saved and on top of that he says, the rich could care less about you so why worry about catering after them.  he says, is it not the rich exploiting you? 

in nt times it was the roman nobility who were feeding the CHRISTians to the lions.  it was the upper crust (a bunch of crumbs held together by their own dough) that were persecuting the CHRISTians, judging the CHRISTians, throwing the CHRISTians to the lions.  james says, “why worry about impressing them.  they’re certainly not worried about impressing you.  they’re doing the opposite.’

do you know why we like to kiss up to people who are affluent?  why we like to cater to people who are celebrities?  because we hope they’ll do something for us. 

folks, you don’t have to know the key men if you know the man who holds the keys.  he has a way of opening and closing doors regardless of your network or your contacts.  james says, “don’t show favoritism.  it’s unCHRISTian, and it’s unreasonable; it’s illogical, it doesn’t make sense.

just a thought from the front porch…