Rich vs Poor
James 2:2-4 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly,
and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,
3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say,
"You sit here in a good place,"
while you say to the poor man,
"You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet,"
4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil thoughts?
and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,
3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say,
"You sit here in a good place,"
while you say to the poor man,
"You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet,"
4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil thoughts?
James is outlining a case study. Jesus told a lot of parables, and we know when he was telling a story because he didn’t use specific names. James is doing something similar by saying, “just suppose ‘a man wearing a gold ring comes in.’” Now most of you are wearing a gold ring. That’s not a big deal, right? In those days, that was huge. James is giving us a case study based on finances.
To put it into modern language: if a guy show up to church driving a Lambo, and gets out wearing an Armani suit and fine leather shoes – you’re going to pay attention to him. He’s flashy and you’re not used to seeing that. You’re going to be checking out his suit. You can tell he’s rich. He’s even got the bad haircut like Donald Trump. He’s obviously loaded. So what do you do? You offer him the best seat in the house. And then you start serving him – “Can I get you anything to drink? Do you have a program? Is there anything I can get you while you wait for the service to start?”
Then number two, the other guy walks in. He’s barely got enough clothing to cover all his parts, is more than likely very nervous about walking into this kind of place. He has holes in his t-shirt, holes in his old jean shorts that he also works in, no socks, holes in his boots, hasn’t had a shower in days or weeks, and you kind of pass over him. You may take notice, but for a different reason. You’re more like “hey, let me give you a seat back here.” The rich guy, you want to put up front and make sure he’s well taken care of. The guy who we think we can’t get anything from – “we’re glad you’re here, welcome, go sit in the back, we’ll make sure you have everything you need.” And what does James say about this in verse 4?
To put it into modern language: if a guy show up to church driving a Lambo, and gets out wearing an Armani suit and fine leather shoes – you’re going to pay attention to him. He’s flashy and you’re not used to seeing that. You’re going to be checking out his suit. You can tell he’s rich. He’s even got the bad haircut like Donald Trump. He’s obviously loaded. So what do you do? You offer him the best seat in the house. And then you start serving him – “Can I get you anything to drink? Do you have a program? Is there anything I can get you while you wait for the service to start?”
Then number two, the other guy walks in. He’s barely got enough clothing to cover all his parts, is more than likely very nervous about walking into this kind of place. He has holes in his t-shirt, holes in his old jean shorts that he also works in, no socks, holes in his boots, hasn’t had a shower in days or weeks, and you kind of pass over him. You may take notice, but for a different reason. You’re more like “hey, let me give you a seat back here.” The rich guy, you want to put up front and make sure he’s well taken care of. The guy who we think we can’t get anything from – “we’re glad you’re here, welcome, go sit in the back, we’ll make sure you have everything you need.” And what does James say about this in verse 4?
James 2:4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil thoughts?
and become judges with evil thoughts?
You have started playing favorites with people. The same thing exists today and it’s a very popular thing. People have built a whole theology around it called Prosperity Theology, and it means that if you love the Lord, the Lord will love you back and he will bless you with the nicest clothes, the biggest house, the best car, and life is going to be grand. And they cater to the people who are very well-off. An entire system of lies is built around that, but get this – the same is true for the opposite. There’s also an entire system built around Poverty Theology. See, Prosperity Theology will tell you that the poor people, the people who are in need of housing or food because they don’t have any, are bad, they’re being judged because they’ve done something wrong. Rich people = good, poor people = bad. Poverty Theology will tell you the exact opposite, almost like Robin Hood. They’ll tell you that poor people are the ones suffering for the Lord, and those nasty rich people - what have they done, who have they stolen from, how have they cheated to get all that money? And it becomes two different factions, and they’re both as wrong as can be.
James 2:3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say,
"You sit here in a good place,"
while you say to the poor man,
"You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet,"
"You sit here in a good place,"
while you say to the poor man,
"You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet,"
How did you get to this building today? Most likely you drove in a car, on a bike or a motorcycle, and you’re probably wearing shoes of some kind. How did they get to church back then? They walked! Everywhere, with open shoes, not on concrete and asphalt but on dirt. We had a bunch of storms come through last night, and with all that nasty stuff out there from that, what are you tracking in? Now if you’d had to walk to church through that, not only are your feet and probably halfway up your legs covered in dirt and grime, but animals walked the road, too. Animals don’t walk nicely and go off to the side or find a bush to do their business, right? We’ve all been to the parade, and laughed at the horse that’s walking by pooping. So you’re feet are covered in all kinds of nasty, and then you say to the poor man what? Stand over there or sit down where? At my feet. You have just completely judged them. They are poor, you don’t think you can get anything from them, and so you put them below you. How dare you? That’s what James is saying.
Here’s the problem: some of us still struggle with this kind of bias and favoritism. We make the joke as we’re planning toward the end of the year that we need some rich people to start coming to our church and tithing – we show this partiality! Some of us struggle with the poverty/prosperity thing, and we get angry because they have and we don’t. Or we’re angry because we have and look at those who don’t and think it’s because they’re not working hard enough. They’re not earning it. Has that ever crossed your mind? They’re struggling, they have car trouble and can’t afford to get the car running, and some others who are well-off are like seriously, it’s $500 to get the car fixed, just do it! Don’t have the money? Well, then you’re not working hard enough! Pull yourself up and get to it! Convicted yet?
Here’s the problem: some of us still struggle with this kind of bias and favoritism. We make the joke as we’re planning toward the end of the year that we need some rich people to start coming to our church and tithing – we show this partiality! Some of us struggle with the poverty/prosperity thing, and we get angry because they have and we don’t. Or we’re angry because we have and look at those who don’t and think it’s because they’re not working hard enough. They’re not earning it. Has that ever crossed your mind? They’re struggling, they have car trouble and can’t afford to get the car running, and some others who are well-off are like seriously, it’s $500 to get the car fixed, just do it! Don’t have the money? Well, then you’re not working hard enough! Pull yourself up and get to it! Convicted yet?