Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

March 4
Tuesday


NO MORE
PREJUDICE

READ;
JAMES 2:1-10
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My brethren, do not
hold the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with
partiality. __James @:1
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A 2010 survey by Newsweek contained some startling statistics: 57 percent of hiring managers believe an unattractive (but qualified) job candidate would have a harder time getting hired; 84 percent of managers said their bosses would hesitate before hiring a qualified older candidate; 64 percent of hiring managers said they believe companies should be allowed to hire people based on appearance. All are clear examples of unacceptable prejudice.

Prejudice is not new. It had crept into the early church, and James confronted it head-on. With prophetic grit and a pastor's heart, he wrote: "My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality" (James 2:1). James gave an example of this type of prejudice__favoring the rich and ignoring the poor (vv.2-4). This was inconsistent with holding faith in Jesus without partiality (v.1), betrayed the grace of God (v.5-7), violated the law of love (v.8), and was sinful (v.9). The answer to partiality is following the example of Jesus: loving your neighbor as yourself.

We fight the sin of prejudice when we let God's love for us find full expression in the way we love an treat each other. __Marvin Williams

```````````````````````````THINKING IT OVER```````````````````````
``````````````Who helped you determine what is the right way to```````
```````````````treat people? Was it based on external things?```````````
`````````````What are some ways you can love people as Jesus did?```````
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Looking up to Jesus prevents us
from looking down on others.

***********************************Today's Bible Reading __ James 2:1-10**********************************

1 My brethren, do not hold
the faith ofour Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory,
with partiality. 2 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,

3 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,"

4 have you not shown
partiality among
yourselves, and become
judges with evil thoughts?

5 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? 6 But
you have dishonored the
poor man. Do not the rich
oppress you and drag you
into the courts? 7 Do they
not blaspheme that noble
name by which you are
called?

8 If you really fulfill the
royal law according to the
Sccripture, "You shall love
your neighbor as yorself,"
you do well; 9 but if you
show partiality, you commit
sin, and are convicted by
the law as transgressors.

10 For whoever shall keep
the whole law, and yet
stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In James 2:8, we see a guiding principle of Scripture__our
responsibility and privilege to love our neighbors as ourselves. This
theme was established in the ancient Law of Israel (Lev. 19:18) and
was the life principle illustrated by Jesus in the parable of the good
samaritan (Luke 10:27). In addition to Jame's words here, it is
affirmed by Paul Galatians 5:14.