What is Really Important?
“My brothers and sisters, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also comes in, if you look with favor on the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Sit here in a good place,’ and yet you say to the poor person, ‘Stand over there,’ or ‘Sit here on the floor by my footstool,’ haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” – James 2:1-4
Getting new gear is an exciting factor in playing sports. Professionally, if you are doing well, you might even get sponsored by a big-name brand like Nike or Adidas.
There is nothing wrong with getting excited about a new pair of cleats or the gear your team gets. We run into trouble when we allow the gear to determine our status and the status of those around us. It’s easy to gravitate toward wealth; we all struggle with it. We should watch how this desire for wealth affects how we treat others.
In the book of James, we see that it’s easy to fall into favoritism when it comes to earthly wealth.
You might try to befriend someone with the latest and greatest gear because, in your mind, you have determined that they are worth more than someone who doesn’t. Then we see someone who needs nice gear, clothes, or wealth as less important. This is wrong because nothing about external wealth is a marker of internal character. When we do this, we become false judges, which causes nothing but trouble for us.
God is the only true judge; we cannot do the job meant for God, nor should we try.
Today, see if you can look past external factors and see people for who they are despite what the world says they are worth.
- How does money affect the way you view people?
- Do you need help with judging people based on external factors?
“God, You are the only judge; let us not try to do what only You can do. There are many things in this world that we are told are important. Many of those things are not considered important in Your eyes. Help us see what is important to You and forget the rest. Amen.”
