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From God’s Word in the Holy Bible we may be familiar with the scripture in James 2 which talks about partiality. Because of hearing sermons on this topic early on in my conversion it made me think about seeking out in the congregation, the poor, if any, or the sick, lame, or newly converted people so that they would feel welcomed and more at ease because of their inability to get out of their wheelchairs, or feeling shy, or somewhat awkward not knowing anybody. Learning about what God values from His children...not what we think, but what He thinks, wants, desires and treasures should be motivation enough, as surely we all want to please our Father and become more like Him?
You see, for the vast majority of my life when in the world I didn’t know God at all but now, after baptism, this was for me a powerful, driving force to learn all about God...what He says, what He wants, what He loves, and also what He despises. I realised I had no time to waste and thought of myself as one of those labourers entering the field at the eleventh hour. This is mentioned in Matthew 20:1-16 from the parable of the workers in the vineyard. And so, the learning continues upon which it is so beneficial to have a good foundation. Here is the scripture which made me “sit up and take notice”...
James 2:1-10 “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. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all”.
Partiality is wrong and sinful according to God. It is such a serious matter we need to be sure we know the meaning and its effects. Just what is partiality? According to Dictionary.com the word partiality means “prejudice or bias in favour of something”. The opposite of partiality is to be all inclusive, to have no preconceived thoughts or judgments based on how a person looks or presents themselves, to avoid judging with our eyes and minds that may be influenced by what others say or by what we think we perceive as truth, as we cannot judge righteously (John 7:24; Isaiah 11:3). We should never make assumptions or jump to conclusions. We should strive to treat all the same way within the household of God — with patience, with love, with our time and attention. Remember Proverbs 18:17 “The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbour comes and examines him”. Unless one is talking blasphemy or is not prepared to meet in peace, then brethren are to be treated well, all in the same manner. Philippians 2:3. Do we do this?
Sad to say there have been many instances among various congregations that have shown the opposite of love. This is tremendously hurtful. Imagine if you are talking to a member and they are constantly distracted, looking at their watch, answering their phone, glancing around at who is there, even walking away mid sentence saying they will get back to you but forget and do not do so. Then, there are those occasions where people just pop up and suddenly interrupt, not even waiting for a pause. At the time when speaking on matters very close to my heart it was very disturbing to be interrupted, even crushing because of the way it was done, flippantly like my thoughts and feelings did not matter.
I remember all of these occasions and was incredulous that a person with God’s Spirit would do this. We are not perfect, yet we are held to a higher account. It was very hurtful at the time so I made a solemn pledge to God that I would not let these things offend me, but they surely had the potential to as I am very sensitive and deeply desire polite and pleasant conversation with consideration and Agape love. After some time the shock wore off that some people in the church were not much different to those in the world in this respect. It took me a long time to adjust to this as I had such high expectations of brethren because I thought they all had God’s Spirit and were led in this way. There is so much to learn, so much to suffer, but as one dear sister said to me once “it is for our benefit as God needs to toughen up us sensitive ones”. She was right!
Then there is the matter of people refusing friendships on Facebook like they are somehow superior to you or they don’t like you and ignore the request. This is rather childish and definitely unloving. It is good that there are those who accept everyone whether within their church group or not, because they are practising Agape love. If names were provided you would all know who they are. It is a shame that not everyone follows their example. There are many other poor examples to draw from but what is the use? Some of these examples are almost unbelievable to come from the flock, even from up the ranks to the very top.
Should offences occur? No...but we know there are wheat and tares amongst us and they are everywhere. Also, the devil stirs up a spirit of hatred, suspicion, mistrust, accusations, and loves nothing better than to turn us away from God, and from each other through bitter divisions, fights, and squabbles. The apostle Paul saw it all and that is why he wrote so much in 1 and 2 Corinthians for us to learn from. Imagine brethren even wanting to take their matters into the law courts in disputes with one another? Can it truly be so? Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 — please read carefully and heed these words! Let us learn from wisdom.
Let us resolve to treat all members well. We must be unified. We should not pick and choose whom we will converse with or decide who is good enough for us to mix with depending on their name, or status, or whether they have been around for many years. If problems arise there should be much fasting and prayer in this regard. Go to your brother as Matthew 18 implores us — exercise God’s principles. If they do not listen, get the Pastor involved as mediator. Surely God’s minister will serve in this capacity to have both parties restored once more and unified. God sees all. The most important thing is to have a plan in place if offences occur and they will because we are not living in a perfect world...yet.
Some scriptural references to look up and read to further study on this topic to have meditation and prayer for your benefit include Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:17; Job 32:21-22; Acts 10:34; 1 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Corinthians 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:21; and James 3:17. Now we must go to God in a spirit of humble, heartfelt repentance on our knees in order to show our Father that we are nothing without Him, that we deeply desire reconciliation between ourselves and others, and do as God says, not how we feel we want to. Actually, every time I find myself wanting to do something my way, I actually do the opposite because I know it always lines up with God’s way...the right way! If I can do this, you surely can too. Who will you please...the devil, or God?