{"id":5778,"date":"2014-11-04T02:15:15","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T02:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5778"},"modified":"2014-11-19T01:42:28","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T01:42:28","slug":"james-21-favoritism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5778","title":{"rendered":"James 2:1\u2014Favoritism"},"content":{"rendered":"

My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.<\/em>\u00a0 James 2:1<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:18 declares, \u201cIt is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them<\/em>.\u201d When standing in faith for more than one desired outcome, God gives you the go ahead: Hold onto every bit of it by faith in the fear of God and you will come forth with it all.<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to holding onto faith while at the same time carrying an attitude of personal favoritism, don\u2019t expect a similar God-endorsed outcome. The two are diametrically opposed to one another; an attitude of personal favoritism will always undermine your faith and expose it as deficient.<\/p>\n

The Amplified Bible says it this way, \u201cMy brethren, pay no servile regard to people [show no prejudice, no partiality]. Do not [attempt to] hold and practice the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Lord] of glory [together with snobbery]!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cServile\u201d, according to Encarta Dictionary<\/em>, means being \u201ctoo willing to agree with somebody or to do anything, however demeaning, that somebody wants\u201d. My eighth graders called this kind of person a \u201csuck-up\u201d (a term I wouldn\u2019t let them use in class)\u2014someone who leeches self-esteem from their interactions with \u201cthe man\u201d or the \u201cdiva\u201d of the day.<\/p>\n

How does this attitude manifest? It comes on the scene in a number of ways, and unfortunately, each manifestation produces winners and losers, a pecking order, or a type of caste system that pigeon-holes individuals, causing them to feel restricted in the full expression of who they are.<\/p>\n

As awkward as it is to discuss, in church life\u00a0this kind of partiality\u00a0is one of the prime sources of discomfort, pain, and\u00a0a nagging\u00a0sense of isolation that emerges within a body of believers. Whenever someone makes it his mission to identify with the \u201cright people\u201d within the body, to rub shoulders with perceived VIPs, or to name drop to prove his importance, there\u2019s a good chance that this person is operating with an attitude of personal favoritism.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this drive does not serve the intended purpose\u2014to make the person more loved, respected, and integrated into a healthy body; instead it tends to create invisible barriers between members\u2014barriers that broadcast who is desirable, who is acceptable, who is OK, who is so-so, and who is probably better left avoided. Think middle school and high school.<\/p>\n

Again, the Amplified takes no prisoners when it uses the word \u201csnobbery\u201d as a synonym for \u201cpersonal favoritism\u201d. Walking in faith and glorifying the precious name of the Lord must not<\/em> dwell together within the same person alongside snobbery. Nothing will hinder the witness of a believer nearly as brazenly as snobbish partiality.<\/p>\n

The Greek term koin\u014dnia <\/em>is used often in the New Testament for our words \u201cfellowship\u201d, \u201ccommunity\u201d, \u201ccommunion\u201d and \u201ccommunication\u201d. As my pastor once said, this word for fellowship means \u201ctwo fellows in the same ship\u201d\u2014a sense of community and the free flow of communication one among the other. In such a body, no member feels \u201ctoo good\u201d or \u201ctoo insignificant\u201d\u2014so-called \u201cstanding\u201d in the body does not even cross anyone\u2019s mind. Why not? Because healthy Christian life and community has no room for personal favoritism. Snobbery\u2014as the Amplified Bible calls it\u2014has been laid aside along with the rest of the works of the flesh.<\/p>\n

My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you notice that you have operated in an attitude of personal favoritism in any way, talk openly to God about it. Receive cleansing and forgiveness and allow Him to readjust you from within so that wherever you go, that sweet sense of community and fellowship can flow unhindered.<\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.\u00a0 James 2:1 Ecclesiastes 7:18 declares, \u201cIt is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.\u201d When standing in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5778"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5781,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5778\/revisions\/5781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}