Love Does Not Favor the Rich Over Poor
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help me to fully understand what it means love others regardless of status. Amen
READ:
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?” James 2:1-7 NIV
““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:31-33, 37-40 NIV
REFLECT:
Several years ago, I became familiar with a church which did an excellent job of implementing the concept of love that does not favor the rich over the poor. The senior pastor realized the need to reach out to the large immigrant population in the community. He convinced the church leadership to hire a strong bilingual pastor to start an outreach to these individuals. The outreach thrived under the leadership of these two pastors. This worked very well until these two pastors moved to different communities.
The new immigrant pastor was young and did not have the leadership skills of the previous pastor. The new senior pastor was not in sympathy with the outreach to the immigrant community and sabotaged it with the church leadership. Soon the leadership voted to dissolve the outreach. The church does not have any outreach now, to a rapidly growing immigrant population because it did not “fit in” to their idea of what a church should be. The church missed the opportunity to continue being a beacon to their community, implementing James 2:1-7.
APPLY:
Are you missing the opportunity to reach out and show love to someone because you are turned off by their lifestyle? It may not be a poor person but there are other things that can turn us off to an individual and we fail to show them love. Examine yourself and measure how you treat others by the two focus scriptures and make any changes you need to make.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, help me find opportunities where I can quietly demonstrate your love to all individuals regardless of status. Amen
WORSHIP: