Are You Guided By Wrong Motives?

James 2:2-4 -  If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes,  and you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, “You can stand over there if you like or else sit on the floor”—well,  judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives.

The dangers of showing favoritism to anyone is a hard lesson to teach…but James nails it with honesty and directness. It is in fact one of the most dangerous sins we let ourselves justify.  It speaks to the motive of everything we do…it reveals to the world around us where our heart truly is.

I was immediately reminded of the story of the pastor who dressed like a homeless man the day he was scheduled to meet and preach for his new church for the first time.  He had one or two to speak him…but that was to suggest a seat in the back of the church. The majority of encounters were attempts to walk further away from him…or cover their mouths so he could not hear their conversations.  The lesson they learned that day was radical…for when they announced his name…and he walked down the aisle …took the podium…and started to uncover the mess he made of himself to make his point…they saw the purpose in this scripture first hand.

I am guilty…guilty …guilty…it is one of the things God has been dealing with me for a long time.  I am doing much better with letting go of materialism…but I still struggle with treating all people with the same love God treats me….no matter what.  My nose gets in the way…literally and figuratively.

I will testify that the one thing that has helped the most is to involve myself with all economic levels as many ways as I can.  God has allowed me to have some precious friends that have so much less than I do..(in the way of money and finances) dependence on God is all they have sometimes.  They are examples of how God can take a humble heart and teach it to fully rely on him for everything. They have been instrumental in teaching me how to judge a person by their heart….not the tattoos ….piercings …clothes they wear…or money they throw around in stores. 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I am nothing if my faith does not completely match my actions for everyone I meet.  Forgive me for the times that I have let success allow pride to lessen the way I treat others that seem different than me. Help me to be completely controlled by you…so that everyone I meet may see your great love through my life and actions.  Amen.