Morning Moments

I. Wisdom's Wealth
II. Worthwhile Works

A. No Respect of Persons 2:1

B. No Respect of Prosperity, Possessions, or Position 2:3

2:2. 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;
Faith and prejudice are mutually exclusive! Let's face it, today's "church" revolves around money. That's just the bare bones of it whether or not you agree. Americans are guilty of leading the world to believe that bigger is better and the "church" has bought into that philosophy so it has conformed to the world with "good intent".

The fact is that it takes big money to operate big business and the difference is that the "church" is dependent upon "volunteers" and if the volunteers don't get what they want they move on. They don't realize that what they want is not what they need and the church today would rather give us what we want - gyms, entertainment, ball teams, etc, than what we need - true discipleship which takes time not money.
My point is that, true to the text above, we often pander or cater to those who can keep the show going financially. People with the big bucks. We get to the place where we have no choice because we have to keep the show going on.

Don't misunderstand! The text is not saying it wrong to be rich nor is it saying it is right to be poor. Providence and prosperity are definitely not blood brothers. One may certainly know the guidance of God and not be prosperous, just as one may be prosperous and not know it. God does not favor a person's portfolio and neither should we.

2:3a. And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him,

I was raised in the days when women wore hats. As kids we use to laugh at some of the hats the women wore. It was the buzz! You could certainly tell the rich women from the poor, but I guess that's always been the case.

The text is telling us that, just as finance should not influence us to show preference, neither should fashion. This really gets sticky here because sometimes it is not the clothes but the lack of cleaning of them that becomes offensive. Sometimes smokers do not realize just how bad they smell when their clothes wreak with cigarette smoke.

Mama use to say, "Anybody can be clean." When I was a boy they said, "Cleanliness is next to godliness". Honestly though, sometimes there is someone who can take a person "under arm" and talk to them privately and respectfully about personal matters delicately. It is a VERY difficult thing to do and must only be done man to man or woman to woman.

The point is that we are not to show partiality because of what someone wears.

2:3b. Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

I understand protocol. I realize that under certain circumstances and in certain cases there are assigned places for people to sit, BUT not in worship service - not in the assembly of God's people for worship.

Each Sunday I sit in one of those gaudy high back pulpit chairs that I do not like. I interim since I retired from the full time pastorate. But so many of the older churches have that pulpit furniture for the "leaders". Well, why don't the leaders sit where everybody else sits? What's the big deal? Because we have established precedence about the way a "church" building is to look, etc, etc. It's tradition or trend not truth and we must stick with truth.

There is a new breed rising in the world now that is sick of our show and want the real thing apart from the big bucks and the bright lights - PRAISE GOD!

BLESSINGS!