Beyond Favoritism

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. –James 2:1

I’m quite a bit behind in the study due to illness that made its way through our house. (Doesn’t it always with small children?) And with a sudden need to purchase a new vehicle, which took up all my free time outside of work and caring for family.

As a result, I just reached the day’s lesson that talks about about treating everyone equally and not showing favoritism. This message seems particularly meaningful and applicable at this time. With the recent school shooting tragedy in Ohio, media attention is once more focused on bullying. Was the shooter a bullied outsider, as some have said? It’s true that even if he was, that is not an excuse for what he did. He’s still responsible for his own actions.

However, an event like this should make each of us stop and consider:
Are we actively doing anything to prevent tragedies born of resentment and loneliness from happening in our own neighborhood? Have we taught our children that God created everyone and loves them…and then taught our children to love like He loves? Have we taught our children that to have a friend, you must be a friend? And to treat others like we want to be treated? If we have, then there’s no reason for someone to say of a child in one of our schools “Oh, he doesn’t have any friends.”

As adults, do we actively seek out people who need our help and who need our friendship? Do we sit visit with the same people at work every day and ignore others? Do we make everyone we come in contact with, whether it’s a waitress or our boss or a bus driver or a celebrity, feel equally like they are special in our eyes? There are some simple things we can do, like greeting someone who is walking alone, that might be a small thing to us…and make a huge difference to them. We should apply such means of showing people that we love them, whether small things or large, equally and without regards to looks, race, or whether they may ever be able to return the favor, as we teach our children to do the same.

Sorry for the Delay

All,

I am sorry that I haven't posted for awhile. It's been a whirlwind going from unemployed to having a new job. A whirlwind of activity and busy-ness, but definitely a blessing! I am so thankful to have a job. And it is a job that I am really enjoying, as well. God definitely closed one door to open another wonderful one in His timing.

In addition, this past week, everyone in our house has been sick at one time or another (or several at a time...and a couple sick with two different things at once). Nothing serious, but time-consuming. Tummy bug and some kind of cold-like-upper-respiratory-thing made the rounds. So I've been being Doctor Mom (or patient at the same time for a few of those days). I've been resting this weekend and will be back to blogging tomorrow on Monday.

Thank you all for your patience. I'm really sorry for the gap in posts!

Poor in Spirit

Let the brother of low degree rejoicein that he is exalted. -James 1:9

A large portion of our study in the second week focused on the poor and how they are blessed to know that one day they will be exalted. The flip-side of this is that the rich must realize that their riches are only fleeting, and someday all of it will be taken from them, whether by calamity in this life...or by its ending. No one keeps their worldly possessions forever.

The emphasis here should be on the rich realizing the transient nature of their wealth. Many well-meaning Bible teachers put forward the opinion that being rich is somehow evil in and of itself. Neither this, nor some inherent righteousness about poverty, is supported in scripture. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was also insanely rich in worldly goods. Joseph counseled the Egyptians to store up wealth, keeping it safe against the time of famine that was to come. Clearly, riches themselves are not the problem.

The problem is with our attitude about riches. If our attitude is one of selfishness and an unwillingness to share, then we are sick with a hardened heart against our fellow man. If our attitude is one of stern self-reliance and trusting in our wealth, then we have hardened our heart instead against God and refused to recognize his provisions or our dependence on him.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the POOR IN SPIRIT."
Until we were discussing this lesson in small group, I had never really understood what that meant. I'd read it, wondered about it, but never really heard or thought of an answer that satisfied the question, "What is Jesus talking about 'poor in spirit'?"

After discussing, here is what I think that means:
To be poor in spirit means to live with the mindset of someone who is poor. No matter what your financial station is, to keep the mindset of one who lives in poverty. That is to recognize that you NEED God. When we're coasting along and everything's okay financially, we're very tempted to say, "I got this..." when really, we don't. We've got some temporary handle on the situation...but God's really the one in control. We need to acknowledge His lordship and the fact that we need Him every day, just as much as we would acknowledge it if we were down to our last dollar and needed to buy groceries for the week. We should realize, every day, THAT'S how desperately WE NEED GOD.