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James 2:5-7
James calls out his readers/hearers to be mindful of the poor as God has called the poor to be, “rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him” (James 2:5 (NKJV). But this community in which James is writing must have been disregarding the poor and showing favoritism to the rich as we have seen in James 2:1-4. In Luke 7, John the Baptist had sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He was the Messiah. Jesus answered them in Luke 7:22-23 (ESV) which states, “And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’”
This is a command to not turn our backs to the poor, but as God has included them in His kingdom and to be rich in faith, we should also extend a helping hand.
It is our earthly nature to look down on those who don’t have as much “stuff” as we do. But if we portray ourselves in this way, we are only showing the arrogance, pride, and self-centeredness of Satan. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves in John 13:34-35. Having more “Stuff” than someone else is not a sin as someone else has more “stuff” than we do. It’s not how much “stuff” you have, but that you don’t let the “stuff” take over your life and become a replacement for Jesus. It is a privilege to have wealth and to prosper, but it is our duty to honor God with what He has given us, and to look out for those who are less fortunate.
Dear LORD,
James is teaching us a lesson that we should not look down on the poor or less fortunate as these are the people You have chosen throughout history to do great things. King David began as the youngest in his family and tended sheep, but You chose him to become a great king for Israel. As we look through the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 we will notice that many of them were not prominent people but the lowly of society. Please put in our hearts to respect everyone regardless of social status or background in that we would bring glory to You through our lives. In Jesus name I pray, amen.