Partiality and Discrimination
James 2: 1 - 8
This passage might seem to support the leftist agenda, opposing capitalism or the rich, but this is not about politics; this is the Word of God. There should be no discrimination, whether against the poor or the rich. It is important for us to understand what James meant in his message. Other verses in the Bible teach us to show compassion to all people, but especially to the helpless. Why is that? We believe that the rich also need compassion and mercy from God, but they may find it harder to humbly acknowledge this need. The rich can be full of compassion for others, yet they may not feel that they also need compassion from others. They may think that they should be the ones who show compassion, not the other way around.
It is important to meditate again upon the message of Christmas. Christ incarnated; He did not merely show compassion to sinners. He showed compassion not from a position above us, but by becoming human like us. Some people feel pity or sympathy toward Christianity and think they are helping the church or even God. However, from Christian perspective, it is important to emphasize that those who can show compassion are those who have themselves received compassion from God. This is also the way of Jesus Christ. He showed compassion not from above, but by entering this sinful world. In the Beatitudes, we read (Matthew 5:7), “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Showing mercy and receiving mercy is inseparable. Yet, our sinful world often fails to understand this beautiful point.
From this passage, we observe a strong tendency to disproportionately respect the rich. James calls this the sin of showing partiality, particularly towards the rich. In verse 1, we read that holding the true faith is not compatible with showing partiality. When we do so, we deceive ourselves about the reality of our relationship with God. A commentary warns us against this servile mentality of trying to please, or even worship, the rich. We make them our idols and strive to follow them. We can actually test the true desire of our heart by asking: whom do we admire the most in our life? Missionaries? Why should we admire them when their life is rather miserable? We would rather learn from those successful millionaires. Knowing whom we admire the most may betray our axiology and reveal what we deem most important in life.
What is a servile mentality? It is when we feel obliged to respect the rich and important people, perhaps out of fear that we won’t receive benefits from them if we don’t. Thus we are in bondage. We don’t have the freedom to love and embrace all people. Instead, we selectively embrace and respect only certain groups of people. This is the problem of our sinful world, who does not know the true God. There is no knowledge of Jesus Christ, on whom James place the attributes: ’the Lord of glory'.
What is the significance of addressing Jesus as the Lord of glory? Once we have a vision of the glory of the true God, all glory of the world will be pale in comparison. The glory of God is simply incomparable with the fading glory of the world, including the glory of the rich. If we are too interested and captivated by the financially successful people, it only betrays the fact that we have not truly seen the beauty and the glory of God. To be human is to see glory, to worship, and to admire. It is simply inhuman to live without admiring something or someone. The question is: what or whom do we admire? Whose glory do we see? The vision of the true glory of God liberates us from this servile mentality. We will no longer be bound to show partiality and discriminate against people based on their social and financial status.
The example given by James (in verse 2-3) is clear and concrete. The gold ring and fine clothing become too shiny for us because we do not see the glory of God. In contrast, we ridicule and look down on the poor in shabby clothing because we do not see the glory of God. Without seeing the glory of God, the gold ring and fine clothing will be too enticing to our eyes, while the ugliness of the shabby clothing will be very apparent and unbearable to us. We will not have the power to love and tolerate them without the vision of God’s glory. Christ was born in the ugly manger and died on the ugly cross. Without the glory of God we would disdain and ridicule the ugliness of the manger and the cross. Seeing the glory of God is substantial in Christian spirituality. As Christians, we cannot live without seeing the glory of God; otherwise, we will live like what James described here.
James continued in verse 4, “have you not then made distinctions among yourselves… " The word ‘distinctions’ can also be translated as ‘divisions’ . When we become overly conscious of distinctions in social and financial status, these distinctions can lead to divisions within the church. By what criteria do we make these distinctions? This is the issue in the Jamesian community. A commentary explains that these distinctions or divisions merely reflect the distinctions we have already made in our minds and hearts. Before they become apparent in the church, they are already harbored within us. This is how our sinful world operates. It tries to create distinctions between the rich and the poor. We thank God that we have the Gospel which liberates us from these miserable distinctions. In the Gospel, we see the very life of our God, who does not distinguish between the rich and the poor because it is not important in His kingdom; it is not a criterion in His holy kingdom.
In verse 5, James indeed talked about riches, but it is presented in a reversal motif. Those who are deemed poor by the world are chosen to be spiritually rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. We can again combine this teaching with the first Beatitude. We should have holy ambitions towards spiritual riches. It is beautiful that those who are poor in the world may be rich in faith and heirs of God’s kingdom. But sadly, the Jamesian community here dishonored the poor and instead praised the rich. They had not yet lived in the kingdom of God; they were still living in the kingdom of the world. When we continue to enjoy living in the kingdom of the world, we will certainly dishonor the poor. We need spiritual eyes, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, to see the beauty of those who are rich in faith.
Theologian P. T. Forsyth, in trying to describe Luther’s theology on faith, said that faith is an experience of what we have not. If we think that we already possess many things, what need is there for faith? In this verse we see a perfect combination between being rich in faith and being poor in the world. Of course, we must be careful and realize that not all poor people depend on God. There are poor people who are very arrogant and do not want to be helped. Nevertheless, in general the poor tend to be more dependent on God because they live from mercy to mercy. There is a social experiment where some homeless people are given some gifts and when they receive, they can easily share and distribute them to other homeless people. Perhaps this would not be the case with the rich. When they are given something, they tend to try to possess it for themselves. We may logically think that the rich should be more generous compared to the poor, and it is understandable if the poor choose to enjoy what they have been given for themselves. However, the truth is the richer we are, the more difficult it becomes for us to be generous.
James continued by reminding this community (verse 6), “Are not the rich the ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court?” They knew this, and yet they continued to honor the rich. Isn’t it illogical? To understand this, we may need to observe it from the perspective of the fallen world. In this fallen world, we are either oppressing or being oppressed, either using others or being used by others. As sinners, we often think that rather than being oppressed, we should be in a position to oppress others. This is why we admire those who have the ability to oppress others. We may be oppressed now, but once we become successful, our turn will come to oppress others.
This fallen perspective presents a very realistic picture of the fallen world. But what we believe is the Gospel, which liberates us from this fallenness. We have more than just these two options of oppressing or being oppressed. When we see the glory of God, we are liberated from the disproportionate respect we give to the rich, and we will enjoy the true freedom to embrace all kinds of people. If we can only talk to certain groups of people, then we are in bondage. If we can only embrace our countrymen, then we are in bondage. But if we enjoy the true freedom from God, then we should be able to love all kinds of people. This is also celebrated in the beautiful sunday school song: Jesus Loves (all) the Little Children.
If we believe in the Gospel, there will be this axiological transformation in us. What we previously deemed important will no longer hold that significance. Certainly, the distinction between the poor and the rich still exists in this world, and at times, it is heavily politicized. But according to our Christian faith, we shall be free from showing any kind of partiality because our Lord does not show partiality. So let us enjoy this blessing in Christ. Thanks be to God.