As James, “the
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” shared with the
“twelve tribes scattered abroad”, he told them not to have
“respect of persons”. In chapter two and verse two of his
letter, James gave his readers and example of a man dressed in
“goodly apparel” in contrast to a “poor man”
with “vile raiment” where we read:
For if
there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring,
in goodly
apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
The
verse begins, “For if there come unto
your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel,...” James
began with the word “For”
or “even as, because, even, indeed, no doubt and therefore” “if
there come”
which means “enters or arises” “unto
your assembly”
which is the Greek word “synagōgē”
and refers
to “a bringing together, gathering or assembly” “a
man” or “a
person whether male or female” “with
a gold ring”
which means “golden finger-ring or similar jewelry” “in
goodly” or
“dressed in shining, brilliant and magnificent” “apparel”
which refers to “clothing, raiment or robes”. James' first
reference was to a person who comes into their “synagogues” with
“gold jewelry” and fancy clothing.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and
there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;” James
added, “and there come in”
which means “enters or arises” “also a poor man”
which refers to “one reduced
to beggary, begging and asking alms who is destitute of wealth,
influence, position and honor” “in vile”
or “dirty, filthy and defiled with iniquity” “raiment”
which means “clothing, apparel
or robes”. James' second reference was to the person who enters
their “gathering place” with “dirty and soiled” clothing on.
When
we consider these words of James, we should allow our imaginations to
see the people who enter our churches or gathering places with “rich”
or “poor” clothing and accessories on. Our natural tendency is to
treat the person with “affluent” clothing and jewels better than
the person with “dirty and unclean” clothing. The Heavenly Father
has no “respect” for persons, and if we are to be as Jesus
is, we should not allow ourselves to have “respect towards” some
and disrespect towards others as well.
Next
time James shares about preferential
treatment to those who are rich,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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