but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
(James 2:9 NKJV)
Do you ever struggle with feeling left-out? Does the wound of rejection sting? Have you ever asked yourself why you are never invited?
The reality of being uninvited slapped me in the face one Sunday morning when several ladies missed church. Obviously, others knew all about their beach trip. But I wasn’t invited. The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. The conversations that suddenly stopped when I approached. The point-blank question: “Are you all going somewhere?” The reply was nothing short of a lie, “Africa.”
But that Sunday morning the truth was crystal clear. That’s when the memories came back. The teasing in school. The exclusion from certain groups. Even the rejection of my own daughter. What’s wrong with me? It’s my disability. I am a burden because a visually impaired woman needs help. Is that why I never fit in?
The beach trip replayed itself every year. Now, I’m glad I was never invited because I would have become one of them.
Man’s rejection is God’s redirection.
God moved me elsewhere. I understand the sin of partiality. The cliques are sinful, but so are those who long to be one of them.
Prejudice goes beyond race and ethnicity. Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week in the United States. Social and economic divisions also run deep.
If you are pulling your hair out trying to figure out why you weren’t included, you can stop. Be glad you’re not one of them. The sin of partiality has two sides. Those in the clique and those trying to get in the clique. Whenever I read James chapter two, I remembered them and thought, “Aha! Sinners.” Truthfully, I can point to myself and say the same thing.
James warned his readers about showing partiality to the rich visitors at church. They gave them the best seats, but when a poor man entered, they either seated him on a foot stool or in the floor. The early church had minimal seating, and many church goers sat on the floor.
The sin James points out isn’t the outward display of gold rings and fancy clothes. The sin was those who showed those people favoritism. That is still the sin today.
Do you long to feel accepted by particular people? Why is their friendship so important? Do you really want to be friends with that crowd? Are you cliquish? Are you continually fellowshipping with the same people? Do you make a point to visit with everyone in church? Do you look down on those who don’t fit into your mold? Would you be the first one to make welcome the dirty beggar? The smelly lady? The drug addicts? The homosexual? The pregnant single woman?
Could the greatest sin in today’s church be favoritism? What extra effort can you make Sunday to make someone feel loved, and how can you make visitors feel welcomed?
Father, forgive me for being partial. Install in me a desire to love all people, and direct me toward those who need it most. Heal my wounds of rejection. In Jesus’s name, amen.
DIG DEEPER
Read James 2:1-13
HIKING THE TRAIL
If you are suffering with feelings of rejection, I want you to know God loves you. It’s their loss if they have left you out. A wise woman once said, “Go where you are celebrated, not tolerated.” Allow God to redirect you when they reject you.
RESOURCES
I wondered if my guide dog, Iva, felt rejected when her trainer handed her over to me, never to speak to her again. I wrote about this in my new devotional Faith, Freedom and 4 Paws: Seeing God Through Iva’s Eyes Guide Dog Tales Book 1. Low preorder price ends June 30, 2020. ORDER NOW!
Originally posted on June 29, 2020 @ 3:00 am