Lesson 1422

(Lesson 1422)(08-23-15) James 2:1-12

"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 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; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."

In today's lesson we are commanded to treat the poor and downtrodden with the exact same respect and admiration as we would treat the richest and most highly regarded among us.

We must always remember that God is no respecter of persons. In His eyes we are all the same, nor matter our social or financial status.

Sadly, there are "churches" today that separate their membership by status in complete rejection of this lesson.

One of the most apparent and common ways that is accomplished is by creating select groups, such as choirs or "ministries" that are set apart from the rest of the congregation. Many even dress those groups differently and seat them in areas of the "church" not accessible to the commoners.

It is a pitiful shame that what today is looked upon as representative of the Church that our Lord Jesus Christ founded has drifted so very far away from what was originally intended by Jesus Himself.

We should vow to love one another no matter who we are, how we appear or where we come from.~