BBD 04.20.06 Every Person
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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04.20.06
Every Person
My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come
into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and
there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you
pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to
him, You sit here in a good place, and say to the poor
man, You stand there, or, Sit here at my footstool, have
you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges
with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not
chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of
the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you
have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and
drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name
by which you are called? If you really fulfill the royal law
according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as
yourself, you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit
sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. - James 2:1-
9.
I missed the article in USA Today last Friday CEOs vouch for
Waiter Rule: Watch how people treat staff, but I did read a
short response to it by Johnnie C. Godwin in USA Today this
day. Godwin says, My truck-driver dad taught and instilled in
me, a future corporate officer, to treat the janitor as well as
the president. Godwin went on to say that, Dads school for
life instilled in me the essential message of USA Todays
splendid cover story on the Waiter Rule, which holds that how a
person treats a waiter is like a magical window into his or her
soul. Bill Swanson, Raytheons CEO in a booklet he wrote about
leadership said, A person who is nice to you but rude to the
waiter, or to others, is not a nice person.
It is refreshing to hear those in leadership positions express
words of kindness and impartiality. Certainly, this is the
Biblical intention for followers of our Lord to be treated well
and kind - not just those who may have money or power but those
who have little money or power.
In our society in the United States it is a sad truth that the
nicer you are dressed and the better you look physically the
better treatment you will usually receive in your interactions
with others. Perhaps this is a result of a constant bombardment
through the media of the images of beautiful and on the surface
flawless people. James reminds us that, If you really fulfill
the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your
neighbor as yourself, you do well. James also records a
strong warning against callous insensitivity and partiality
from those to have much when he writes, Come now, you rich,
weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your
riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your
gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a
witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have
lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened
your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you
have murdered the just (James 5:1-3; 5-6).
We should always remember that every person is important in the
eyes of God. Because God demonstrated this importance by dying
on the cross for all, not just some. Salvation is for all who
will come, all who will receive Gods provision for sin through
Christ Jesus. Sadly, many reject Christ but this does not
lessen the demonstration of Gods love for them nor our need to
treat them with the same love and respect.
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