Living in the Spirit
September 3, 2015

Scripture Reading: James 2:1-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? –James 2:1-7

There is probably no greater evidence of injustice in the world than in our judicial system within the United States. If you can afford the best attorney, you can most likely win your case or get a lighter sentence. If people cannot afford an attorney, even if they are not guilty they may be encouraged to plead guilty to get a lesser sentence.  If a person has the good fortune of having a family who can afford to pay for psychiatric care at the onset of an illness, he or she will be able to prove he or she was mentally ill before the crime and thus meet the constitutional criteria that says we do not execute the mentally ill. If the person is diagnosed after sentencing he or she will most likely be executed even though evidence of mental illness was present for much of his or her life.

We are called to not see class differences but it is really hard to do in a society that projects more worth on wealth than on personhood. I do not think the problem is so much being gracious to the upper class. The problem is ignoring or even stepping over the poor to cast your lot with the people whose prosperity equals power.

We need to show God’s grace in our lives to everyone. The rich can be as spiritually poor as anyone. The poor in worldly acquisitions may be rich in spiritual gifts. They are all welcomed as part of the Body of Christ.

Prayer: Lord, expand our ability to love to see your reflection in each person we encounter so that we no longer are driven to be concerned about material worth. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.