Sermon Tone Analysis

James 2:1-13

Chapter 1 Stand with Conviction

Chapter 2 Serve with Compassion

The Fallacy of Favoritism

There is a folktale in the middle east about a man who was invited to a banquet.

He left his house dressed in his favorite patchwork coat.

Of course, being his favorite, it was older and worn.

On the way to the banquet he helped a man capture his runaway goat.

When he arrived at his friends banquet, no one paid any attention.

The servants ignored him and even his friend had nothing to do with him.

He realized it was because his coat was dirty and he smelled like goat.

He left.

Cleaned up.

Put on his best coat and went back to the banquet.

He was immediately greeted by the servants, everyone accepted him and all kinds of food were set before him.

He picks up a piece of food and puts it in the sleeve of his coat saying, “Eat, my coat, Eat!” His friend and all the guests were shocked at this and asked what he was doing.

The man replied, ““Why surely you wanted my coat to eat,” “When I first arrived in my old coat, there was no food for me.

Yet when I came back in my new coat, there was every kind of food for me.

This shows that it was the coat–and not me–that you invited to your banquet.”

In our passage, today, James touches on a subject that is relevant to every one of us.

Favoritism.

I believe every one of us hates favoritism.

We have heard someone say, “It is not what you know, but who you know.”

I don’t know about you but that goes right through me.

We want to believe that with enough hard work we can accomplish anything, but what about the person who doesn’t put in the hard work?

You know who I am talking about.

The one who got hired because they knew someone or the one who got promoted just because they were connected, somehow, to the boss.

But favoritism goes on in more than just the work place.

We want to be friends with people who have money.

Somewhere deep inside we hope it will come our way.

Kids go out of their way to be in the “in” crowd hoping they will benefit from it.

We don’t like favoritism and we are quick to deny it.

I’m not that way!

But the truth is it affects all of us and James leads off with this as he starts to give direction to his readers.

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

We have to:

We have to:

A. Accept others (2:1–13)

Show no partiality as you walk with Jesus.

Remember, James is writing to a Jewish audience.

Partiality was part of who they were.

If you weren’t a Jew, you were a second class citizen.

Jews didn’t associate with Gentiles.

They didn’t eat with them and they definitely didn’t worship with them.

Those people were unclean.

Can you hear the attitude in this?

We are God’s chosen people, so that has to make us better than you.

Listen, again to what James says:

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?

Can you picture this in our church?

One of the well-to-do members of our community comes in.

We would naturally welcome them and find them a good place to sit.

A few of you would lean to your neighbor and say, “Did you see who is here today!”

We would be excited and maybe even announce it to the church.

But James says, “Would you do that for a poor person?”

Would we be just as excited for the homeless person who walked in our doors?

I would like to think so, but I am afraid we aren’t much different from the folks in James’ day.

Can you picture this in our church?

One of the well-to-do members of our community comes in.

We would naturally welcome them and find them a good place to sit.

A few of you would lean to your neighbor and say, “Did you see who is here today!”

We would be excited and maybe even announce it to the church.

But James says, “Would you do that for a poor person?”

Would we be just as excited for the homeless person who walked in our doors?

I would like to think so, but I am afraid we aren’t much different from the folks in James’ day.

We have to show:

Courtesy To All

I think it is our natural tendency to show favoritism but at its core we are just judging people.

4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

There is an amazing irony in all of this.

Here we sit professing to be Christians, forgiven of all our sins, every evil and thoughtless thing we have ever done and yet we so quickly judge others around us.

And most of the time we are basing our judgment on what we see.

What kind of car they drive, what color their skin is, where they live, what clothes they wear, what kind of accent they have.

There is an amazing irony in all of this.

Here we sit professing to be Christians, forgiven of all our sins, every evil and thoughtless thing we have ever done and yet we so quickly judge others around us.

And most of the time we are basing our judgment on what we see.

What kind of car they drive, what color their skin is, where they live, what clothes they wear, what kind of accent they have.

All of those things give us an excuse for separating people and putting them in classes, usually below us.

James is reminding us there is only one real separation and that is the one between man and God.

God is way up here and we are way down here.

There is no way we can span that gap on our own.

But in this little space of way down here, we want to make distinctions.

Seems kind of silly doesn’t it?

Here we stand free from God’s judgment.

Think about this for a second.

We judge people on what we can see, yet, God who sees everything; God who knows every evil thing we have ever done, every evil thought we have ever harbored chooses not to judge us for them.

That means He will also do this for every person we come in contact with, should they choose to accept Him.

He doesn’t just save the rich.

In fact, they are usually the last to turn to Him.

Who are we to condemn people that even God doesn’t judge.

Instead of rushing to judge them, how about loving them like God loves them.

We don’t get to pick and choose.

We should show Courtesy to everyone.

How much different would our communities be if people simply showed courtesy to one another.

This would be a great start, but it would not be enough.

James also says we need:

Compassion For All

5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

Jesus said, “The last shall be first.”

The people who we see as last in line are the very people God has chosen to bless.