“Keep The Royal Law: ‘Love Your Neighbour As Yourself!'”

“Keep The Royal Law: ‘Love Your Neighbour As Yourself!'”(Jam.2:1-13).
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favouritism…If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as law breakers…Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Inequality in wealth distribution which categorizes people as poor and rich is not too much of a problem. Some are poor because they are lazy and some are rich not not because they work hard. “The short ridge in the farm is neither because ground was finished, not because the farmer was lazy.” The old rhyme, “All things bright and beautiful” infers this in stanza 3: “The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.” (This is only partially true).
What is problematic is our attitude towards both categories. The tendency is to treat the rich with respect and honour and to treat the poor as garbage! This in turn gives airs to the rich who now see the poor as less than humans; with exceptions though.
The secular society may practice inequality in the way the rich and the poor are treated, but it shouldn’t be so with believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
We must acknowledge that fingers are not the same. So we cannot think that class distinctions can cease to be. The introduction of a round table was to minimize both inferiority and superiority complexes when people of different categories sit at table.
In the same way, the pews in church gives opportunity for people to be of the same level as both the poor and the rich share the same bench. But is that all that makes us equal? After sharing the same bench in church what happens when we meet after service at other meetings?
James must have been pained in the way he saw ushers behaving as they judged people by their dressing. We have learned that some statesmen escaped assassinations because they swapped their state vehicles for an inferior one. Imagine that a poor man puts on an expensive dress which is a gift from a rich man; and the rich man puts on a simple attire. Both of them attend a meeting where they are not known. If you are a person who shows favouritism you would surely give the best seat to the expensively dressed poor man.
Favouritism is judgmental; and it violates the “royal law: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself!'” There is nothing as big or small sin. Sin is sin. Favouritism may seem inconsequential, but it isn’t! It is judgmental and we are not in a position to judge others. When we show favouritism it means we are not merciful. In speech and action we have to be merciful “because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
So my dear friend, if we expect mercy from the Lord we should keep the royal law of loving our neighbours as ourselves. When we excercise such love, we would not show favouritism.
Sunday prayer: Holy Spirit help me to treat everybody I meet as one who has been created in the image of God. Amen!
Have a blessed Sunday! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.