One a Day Word

Respect (Faith in Action)

September 30, 2009

James 2:1-3 KJV

(1)  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

(2)  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

(3)  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

The author in this chapter begins to open a treasure chest for faith in action, and by the end of this series we will have looked at each one.

The first word we will observe at is respect; one of the first thoughts that come to mind with the word respect is the pop song R E S P E C T, don’t ask me the author, nor any of the words beyond what is written here, I am no good with music.

But respect is something we all want, and deserve! Try going into a courtroom with a simple offense like a speeding violation, and instead of referring to the judge as “Your Honor”, use the slang, “Yo, sup Judge”. I would take a gander and say you and your ticket is going to be judged appropriately.

The same respect we give to the judge should be given to everyone. Of course we wouldn’t call everyone “your honor”, but recognizing them as a person and treating them accordingly is always in order.

What James is saying to us is if we claim to have the faith of Jesus, we must not miss use it by showing respect of persons.

Jesus touched the leper, had compassion on the hungry, and healed their sick; never do we read he walked away from giving people the respect they deserved. He came to be the Messiah and that He was.

James continues, when we see people for example come into the church and some are obviously wealthy and others are obviously poor, we can’t give the best seats to the rich and send the poor to the back of the church. If so we have shown disrespect, and disregard to the faith of Jesus.

The next time you are compelled to show favoritism, or loose your cool with someone, stop, and do the right thing, remember that person has a home, a family, and is just as human as you are.

By treating people the way we are instructed too as Christians we are truly putting our faith in action, and applying strong Christian morals that will enlighten us with eyes of Jesus toward lost souls. It’s not just about us; it’s about Jesus, others, and then ourselves.