Favorites. 

We all have them. We joke in our families about who is our favorite child or grandchild. So, we know what it’s like to play favorites and how that can hurt relationships. 

And from an early age, we are taught to look for who is the most powerful, prestigious, or wealthiest in any room or situation. We know who people want to be around and learn that our lives can change, often for good, when we get around those people. 

Now, knowing these things in relationships or at work isn’t bad. They can be helpful when you try to accomplish things or need to raise funds for something. 

But the question Jesus poses through various parables and James’s question in chapter 2 is, “Does this knowledge influence how you treat people?” Wrapped up in James 2 is the reality that in the kingdom of God, the rich are brought down, and the poor are brought up. The old saying, “the ground is level at the cross.”

If you’ve been following along at my church as we’ve been going through the book of James and looking at what it means to be the best of you, in chapter 2, we see: The best of you is seen in how you treat people who can’t return the favor.

Going further, the best of you is seen in how you treat people who don’t return the favor.

This is because, throughout Scripture, we are told that God is the father to the fatherless, the defender of the widow (Exodus 22, Deuteronomy 10, Psalm 68).

 If the gospel has changed us, we will not only treat and love people the way God does, but we will see them the way God does. 

Some simple ways this might show up for you are:

• Sitting with the person who eats alone. 
• Giving a hug or smile to a person who needs it. 
• Being fair and honest in your financial dealings. 
• Not cutting corners, lying, or trying to use people to get ahead at work or financially. 
• Doing biblical and wise things, not just legal, regarding finances. 
• Living on less so you can give more. 

The question I ended with on Sunday is one we need to wrestle with: who in your life do you need to love and serve that can’t or won’t return the favor?