James, “the
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”, was concerned
about the people within the “twelve tribes” who were
“scattered abroad” having “respect of persons”.
He instructed them with the example of when a person “with
goodly apparel” or “vile clothing” came into their
“assembly”. In chapter two and verse three of his letter,
James shared concerning the seating of those who were “rich”
versus those who were “poor” where we read:
And you
have respect to him that wears the gay clothing, and say unto him,
You sit here in a good place; and say to the poor, You stand there,
or sit here under my footstool:
The
verse begins, “And you have respect to him that wears the gay
clothing, and say unto him, You sit here in a good place;” James
began with the words, “And you have respect” which means
“James' readers gazing upon, looking upon, regarding and pitying
with favor or partiality” “to him that wears” or “the
person who bears or adorns” “the gay clothing” which
means “the brilliant, shining, splendid and magnificent raiment,
apparel or robes”, “and say unto him” or “speak,
command, bid, grant and declare to that person” “You sit here”
which means “be seated , fixed and remain” “in a good place”
or “a beautiful, fine, excellent, noble, honorable, comfortable and
well seat or position”. James' reference and example was when
people who appear to have “means” enter into their “assembly”
and people give them preferential treatment or seating.
The
verse goes on to say, “and say to the poor, You stand there, or
sit here under my footstool:” James added, “and say”
or “speak, command, bid, grant and declare” “to the poor”
which means “the person reduced to beggary, begging, asking
alms who is destitute of wealth, influence, position and honor”,
“You stand there” or “be firm, established and in the
upright position which is removed or in that place over yonder”,
“or sit here” which means “be seated , fixed and remain
in this place, hither or in this spot” “under my footstool”
which refers to “by, beneath and below my foot rest and power as
though conquered like the foot on the neck of an enemy”. In
contrast to the preferential treatment of those who were rich, James'
refers to the manner in which “poor” people were handled
in their seating.
When
we consider these words of James, we should keep in mind there were
“tables and seats of honor” in many “assemblies” in
those days. Those who were “prominent” within the community were
to be seated in positions in keeping with their status, and those
with “lower and base means” were to stand or be seated at the
rear of the room or sitting on the floor beneath the feet of those
who were more “honorable”. This was not to be with James'
readers. In the church, no one was to be treated differently than
another, and although it is human nature to give “honor” to those
who are “better stationed” in life, Christians were and are not
to be that way. Jesus Christ leveled the social status as Paul the
apostle wrote in his letter to the Galatians in chapter three and
verses twenty-six through twenty-eight:
For you
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
May
the Lord Jesus through His Holy Spirit help us to realize every
person is valuable in the eyes of our Heavenly Father, and may we
care for them according to His ways.
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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