WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
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For
Sunday November 29, 2020
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IMPARTIAL LOVE
(A warning against prejudice)
(James 2:1-13)
To show partiality to the rich discriminates against the
poor, and, is evil (James 2:1-9). Yet, publicly it is more often than not, the
poor, whom we see swooning over, and showing their envy and worship for, “the
rich and famous”. Here in James chapter 2, the brother of JESUS tells us that
it is the rich who oftentimes slander the name of, and show little or no
reverence for, CHRIST JESUS our LORD and SAVIOR (James 2:5-7).
GOD has chosen the “poor in spirit” to be
“rich in faith”, not the “financially poor”. In other words, those who realize
their need for JESUS, no matter how rich or poor they are in “the material
sense”, will be given the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3). To be poor in spirit
is “to humble one’s self before GOD”, and “show a need for HIM”, no matter how
little, or how much wealth one may have accumulated in this life.
In James chapter 2, verses 1-13, the Christian
Church leader issues a warning against, discrimination, prejudice, and even
favoritism that is based on what a person may own. There is no special merit in
being poor however, except that it is a proven fact that the poor are more
likely to choose GOD, because of their more intense focus on their day to day
needs.
The wealthy tend to grow a dependence on
their riches which covers their day to day needs and leaves them more time to
focus on their own wants. More often than not, riches can corrupt character in
a person, which drives them to “exploit the poor” and “despise the spiritual”
(James 2:6-7).
Warren W. Wiersbe once wrote, “The way we behave toward people indicates
what we really believe about GOD”. Whether we realize it or not, we cannot
separate “human relationships” from “divine fellowship”. If we say we love
GOD and hate any human being, we are lying to ourselves about our love for GOD.
If we can’t love our fellowman, which we see every day, we can’t possibly love
a GOD, WHOM we cannot see.
GOD’s law, which was presented to us by HIS
servant Moses, is “a multi-faceted expression of HIS will”. Violating any
aspect of GOD’s law makes us “sinners”. We have all violated GOD’s law at one
time, or, the other, and, we all continue to do so, some perhaps on a daily
basis. Violation of GOD’s law renders a person “a lawbreaker” no matter how
petty we feel our violation may be. Even something as simple as “favoritism” is
not considered “minor” in GOD’s sight. GOD considers it serious because it
violates HIS command for us to “love one another the way HE HIMSELF loves us”,
which is “unconditionally”.
GOD does not have a “favorite sin”, nor,
does HE feel that one sin is lesser or greater than the other. If you blow up a
balloon, and write on that balloon with a pen, every sin that you can think of,
and then, stick a pen on any of those sins that you have written on the
balloon, the whole balloon will burst. That is a picture of how GOD feels about
sin. If a person commits any sin at all, he or she violates “the whole law of
GOD” (Vs.10-11).
The same GOD WHO says, “Do not commit adultery”,
or “Do not engage in homosexual behavior” also says, “Do not murder”, and “Do
not steal”. If a person commits either one, he or she has violated the whole
law of GOD, and GOD is not pleased by their actions, one, any less, or any
more, than the other.
We, as Christians, rich or poor, must all
learn to walk in faith and put more emphasis on the “eternal things” that await
us, than we do on the “temporal things” that we feel will make us happy now. We
know that if our “earthly house”, that was built by the hands of man is lost,
we still have an eternal house, that is built by the hands of GOD in Heaven,
that can never, ever, be lost.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
Larry Dell Alexander (1953–)
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas
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