Who has the good seats?

James 2:1-6

2:1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 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? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

• Which would you prefer sitting next to you in a church assembly: a well-dressed person or a shabby, dirty person?
• What are some ways you show favoritism between Christians?
• What are some areas where you internally make distinctions between Christians?
• Which are you more drawn to: a rich person or a poor person? Why?
• How do circumstances change how we show our partiality? For example, how do your friends influence your judging others?
• How is your partiality influenced by knowing that God loved the person you judge just as much as he loves you?

Harold's Musings:
As humans, we appear to have a deep desire to be accepted by whatever "in-crowd" we are around. Our society seems to worship the popular. I suspect that if a celebrity entered your church assembly this Sunday morning, there would likely be a rush to greet them. The homeless woman who came in five minutes before could well have been ignored. God has a much different view. The hurting, poor, and unattractive by the world's standards are God's choice for honor. The rich and the popular frequently do not see that they need God; the poor and downtrodden do. Those of us in the middle have to choose whose values we will use. I have found this to be such a challenging passage because I judge people on much more subtle things, lke language, demeanor, likability, etc. While I'm doing better, I've still got a ways to go. Will you choose the (temporary) physical attributes and be partial judges? Will you use God's values and accept equally?