James 2:6b-7

New American Standard Version

6b  Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

Pastor’s Paraphrase

          Think about it – it is the wealthy who have persecuted and taken advantage of you!  Aren’t they the ones who have brought legal action against you? Isn’t it the rich who have insulted and slandered the name of our wonderful Lord – the one to whom you belong?

 “How does this help me become more like Him?”

          During college, I was in a production of the Broadway play, “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying”.  This tongue-in-cheek story of a young man who is willing to do anything to climb the corporate ladder – from insincere flattery to sabotaging a coworker – is a sad commentary on the self serving nature of sinful mankind.

          There are two ways in which we can live in relation to other people.  The way of the unredeemed culture is to treat people based on the potential benefit that we might be able to receive from them.  To live in this way means that people of means and influence merit special and preferential treatment from us because they are in the position to possibly help us in some way down the line.  The other side of this coin is that when people no longer afford us any potential benefit, we can ignore them at best or step on them at worst.  This sounds harsh but many people in this world live in this way though they seek to disguise it under an air of civility or sophistication.

          The other way to live is to seek to treat all people – no matter who they are, what they have, or how we stand to gain from them or not – in the same way – with kindness, dignity, and patience.  In other words, to seek to treat them like Jesus would treat them.  To live in this way runs counter to our inherent sinful natures but it is consistent with the character and heart of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.  To live and relate to others in this way is an issue of faith.

          When we are trying to shape and direct our lives by how we treat others in order to affect how they will treat us in return, we are trying to control our lives rather than trusting God to do so.  If we adopt a “If I don’t look out for myself, nobody else will” philosophy of life, we are demonstrating by our attitude and actions our lack of faith in the Lord to direct our lives.  We are saying to Him that we can’t trust Him to take care of all of the details of our life’s direction and so we must manipulate it ourselves however we can.

          To live more like Him means to trust Him to open the doors in our life that He wants open and to direct us down the path that He has laid out to bless us and use our lives for His glory.  To live like this means we release the need to give anyone special treatment in hopes of it benefiting us.  It means that we are set free to love others through Him and let Him take care of everything else.  This means we don’t have to schmooze people or use people.  We don’t have to impress anyone or discard anyone – we just need to be Jesus to them. 

          In the final analysis, we will make a far better impression on everyone in this way than if we tried our best to do it on our own.  We are to just love all people – rich or poor, any color or race, whether they are like us or couldn’t be more different.  We love them not for what they could do for us – we love them because of what Christ has done for us!

“How should I pray for Him to change my life?”

Pray that the Lord would help you to see all people as He sees them and treat them as He would have you treat them.  Ask Him to help you understand how He would relate to the people in your life – even those who are difficult to love.  Thank Him that He loved you not because you could do anything for Him but because you needed His mercy, love, and grace.

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