A Rich Man's Witness

My brothers, show NO PARTIALITY 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if YOU PAY ATTENTION to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become JUDGES WITH EVIL THOUGHTS? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not GOD CHOSEN those WHO ARE POOR in the world TO BE RICH IN FAITH and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

This verses in James (2:1-5) are pretty straight forward. There are three guiding rules. First, Show No partiality. In other words, don't play favorites. Secondly, Don't Give Special Attention based on how a person looks. Thirdly, Don't be Judges, who render a verdict, through the offering of preferential seating. The writer concludes, that kind of thinking represents evil thoughts. That's such a tough verse to swallow because we do this all the time, whether in the church, or through routine encounters in life. 

Several years ago, there was a man, I'll call him, "James," who had just transferred to our congregation because his old one had recently closed. I was a young pastor, who had one desire in mind, that being to grow the church. Unfortunately, James represented an obstacle to this intrinsic desire of mine. He walked into our church barefooted. To make things worse, instead of making his way to the back, he preferred to sit in the front row where everyone could see his toes. Anyhow, as the leadership and I discussed this situation, we concluded the best thing to do was to buy James a pair of shoes as a "token" of our spirituality and appreciation. 

When presented with this gesture, James politely declined and told me that he had shoes at home. I wasn't sure what to do because there was no plan b. He was supposed to accept the shoes and wear them to our services for the rest of his life! I hate when a plan is foiled. In times like those, you simply conclude that God had a sense of humor, and like a rubber band, he is STRETCHING you.  

After meeting with an elderly lady, whom James took care of in her home, she told me that James had been kicked out of several churches because of the "No Shoes, No Worship Service" policy. Anyway, I was stuck. On one hand I wanted him to wear shoes so we would appear as a normal church, on the other hand, it did not seem right to have him leave. My thoughts would migrate from frustration to anger, to compassion. I wanted to grow the church. I wanted to have "normal people" join. I wanted to have a church with great role models, people who could help us both spiritually and financially. 

I was concerned more about what I wanted, not what God required of me. Scripture taught over and over that I was not to show favoritism. Consequently, my mind, according to God's Word, was filled with partiality. With favoritism. With Evil thoughts! Often in life, it is hard for us to acknowledge that the way we perceive people is not the way God does. God does not  concern Himself with how a person looks on the outside, he is more concerned about what is on the inside, specifically, the heart. 

Well, one day, I decided to do what no one had done with James. I decided to ask him why he did not want to wear shoes in our church. Now, James was not much of a talker, and pretty much kept to himself, but I will never forget his response. He told me that several years ago he was in an accident and had nearly lost his life. It was in that context that he made a bargain with God. He told Him, "If you let me live, I will go back to church. If you let me live, I will consider the church "Holy Ground" and like Moses, I will take off my sandals." Wow! Now I could understand what God meant when he inspired James to write...

⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers, has not GOD CHOSEN those WHO ARE POOR in the world TO BE RICH IN FAITH and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

You see, James was not just rich, but filthy rich, when it came to his faith. When he was kicked out of one church, he would simply go to another that would accept him into their fold. He simply would not compromise his oath to the Lord. In the end, his relationship with God was more important than what others thought. He may not have looked good on the outside to us, but to God, that man glowed with radiance. He was chosen to demonstrate to us what spiritual wealth truly looked like. May you reflect on this man's beauty.