Monday 5 Nov 2012

Monday Reading: James 2:1-5

Key Verse: James 2:5
5  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Devotion:
Go on, admit it, you know you have done this as well. If we have not done this openly then we have done this in our minds. If we have not done this intentionally then we have done this without thinking. We do view others with partiality, selecting those that we wish to see more just because we like the way they dress or the way they act instead of looking at who and what they actually are.

Jesus has no problem looking at us from the inside and discerning exactly what we are like, so trying to hide anything from Him is just not going to work. We also know that our God is not just omniscient but also omnipresent so there is nowhere that we can hide from Him; our thoughts, desires and minds are always open to Him. Yes we can hide much of that from others much of the time, but when we are off guard or when we are not thinking about everything righteous we tend to let the things out that we bury deep inside. It is at those times when we realise that we do have prejudices that are going to hurt others and that may stop us from serving God effectively.

When we allow any of those prejudices to escape from our lips or through our actions then we are breaking down the things that God has so patiently been building up through us. If we do not realise what we are doing then we will see others drift away rather than coming toward God. In this simplistic look of prejudice here in James we see how bad things can look when we reject someone just because of their outward appearance; but this runs much deeper than we realise.

I was brought up in a country where prejudice was the normal way of life – thankfully my parents taught me to love others no matter what station in life they hold. God continues to teach me through allowing me to see so many different people during my work for Him. Whilst I do still crave to spend time with certain people in my life, it is not just because they are beautiful on the outside but because of the beauty that I see inside them; something God has allowed me to see when others have judged them already. I thank my God that He continues to open my heart to the real people in this world and allows me to see through many of the people who hold up earthly ways, money and prejudice instead of God’s Word. Be bold and uphold God’s Word, His ways, His love…

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are unaffected by prejudice?

Where would you be if God was picky?