But you have dishonored the poor.
Sometimes there is as much in what the Bible doesn’t say as what it does say. John has divided the world up into three groups, but he only mentions two. One group is “the rich,” the second group is “the poor.” The third group is everyone else, those who discriminate between the rich and the poor.
This third group of people are those that James is writing to. James refers to them as his “brothers and sisters.” Since all those who believe in Jesus are brothers and sisters in Christ (Mark 3:35) James is talking to us as well.
Curiously, these three groups are all related. You can’t have one without the other. If you have only three people in a room one will be “richer” than the other two and one will be “poorer.” Wherever you go, whomever you are with, everyone will be either richer than you or poorer. No one will ever be exactly the same as you.
James is not just talking about the clothes we wear or how clean we are. He is talking about our very human tendency to judge others (verse 4). Because we are judging others from a human perspective, our judgment is corrupt, short-sighted, and “evil” from God’s point of view. We not only bring shame upon ourselves when we do this, but we dishonor the poor.
To “dis-honor” someone is to take away the honor due them and impugn their character and standing before God. We “become judges” as James points out. Yet what is a person? Is a person the clothes we wear? Is a person the way of talking they learned growing up? Is a person the habits they learned from those they have lived with?
No.
A person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27, 9:6). I don’t think God is referring to the shape of our body, either. Peter refers to his body as a “tent” that he lives in (2 Peter 1:13). Inside the tent of our body is who we really are.
Application: God wants us to look past the body’s clothing and the body itself and see the brother or sister who lives inside.
Food for Thought: Describe what it looks like to honor the poor.
To make them feel welcome in our gatherings
I think Rob’s point is accurate, especially considering the context. The poor were being “put in their place” in the worship gatherings. As you said, they are created in God’s image and this their proper place is to be treated with great respect, love and dignity. That has not changed in two thousand years.
Good points. A person is body, soul and spirit. Each soul has the same worth. To treat each man’s soul with great worth is to honor God and every man.
Thanks all! Excellent comments!
👍🏻
To treat kindly with respect. Not judging of their current position not knowing the situation they are going through. To treat them as a child of God.