October 13, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Holy Nonconformity

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Opening Prayer

I praise You, Lord. You’re always there, even when I’m unaware of You. Teach me Your Word today, I pray.

Read James 2:1-13

[1] My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. [2] Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. [3] If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” [4] have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? [5] Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? [6] But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? [7] Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? [8] If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. [9] But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. [10] For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. [11] For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. [12] Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, [13] because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Reflect

“O Lord, let us fear nothing more than we fear you. Let us love nothing more than we love you, for thus we shall fear nothing, also” (Alan Paton).

The call to follow Jesus is a call to radical difference–a call to live in alignment with the character and values of a holy, just and merciful God. In our readings from Luke we have seen some of the wonderful implications of this as Jesus challenged the shallowness and bigotry of the prevailing religious culture.

At the heart of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus are two great and amazing truths: every person is created in the image of God, and every person is equally loved by the Creator. No matter what status society may give us, we are all of equal worth in the eyes of God. When the church fails to incarnate these truths, it is a terrible failure for it strikes at the very heart of the gospel. This is why James was so appalled by the discriminatory behavior of the Christians he was writing to. Their fawning over the rich dishonored the poor (2,3,6), raised questions about the authenticity of their faith (1), and breached the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (8). This was not the countercultural behavior of the Kingdom of God, and he urged them to live and act as those who’d been liberated in Christ (12).

In 1710, a British mission society inherited a Caribbean slave plantation. Instead of liberating their slaves, they rebranded them with the word “Society.” Before condemning them too harshly, we should appreciate that their behavior reflected the prevailing views of their day. Like the recipients of James’ letter, they were subjected to unrelenting pressure to conform to society’s dominant ways of thinking and living. Because the same is true of us, we must be on our guard, vigilantly subjecting our attitudes and actions to the scrutiny of Scripture.

Apply

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-make you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed” (Rom. 12:1, J.B. Phillips). How can you achieve these goals?

Closing prayer

Lord, I want to respond sensitively to the cultural challenges I face. Help me see Your Lordship in these difficult matters.

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