Glory and Favoritism

“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.” –James 2:1

I wish I could say that favoritism left me the moment that I graduated from junior high. It didn’t. It still hangs around with me today. I have to confess, I treat people differently because of who they are or what they have accomplished. I don’t like it. But it is reality.

So what is the real root of favoritism? Well, over the next three days, we’ll look at different aspects of favoritism. This verse brings out something that I had never considered before. James uses this word ‘glorious’ here that at first glance really doesn’t catch our eye. But what James is referring to is the truth that Jesus Christ is fully glorified in heaven as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. When he returns to earth we will see him fully glorified, not coming as a babe, but rather coming as the all-powerful God.

So what does this have to do with favoritism? When we show favoritism, we give glory to a certain human rather than to Christ. We hold up their power or their wealth as an idol. We all do it. We say things like, “If I were only friends with this person,” or “If this rich person went to our church, then we’d have all of the money that we need.” Meanwhile, Jesus is perfectly willing to give us all that we need when we simply ask. If we ask and don’t receive, it is probably because God is teaching us something different. But why do we put so much of our stock in certain humans? Why don’t we look to God with our needs and trust him to provide?

In what area of your life do you have a tendency to glorify certain humans rather than the risen Christ?