Favouritism & prejudice

Here in Bodmin we run a free café off the back of the local food bank. Each week a Housing Advisor comes to offer foodbank clients help.

So, the other day a woman came and sat down with the advisor. She was pierced and tattooed to within an inch of her life. Her dreadlocks were phenomenal, and her clothes were eclectic – even for Cornwall.

I went and asked them both if they would like a cup of tea. Now I’m pretty sure if some voice analysis was done on me, I spoke to the Tattooed Lady as if she was deserving of my middle-class sympathy. I know this ’cos in my head I was definitely thinking it!

Anyway – turns out she wasn’t a client at all – she is a high-ranking housing officer for Cornwall Council. Ha! You see the problem – whatever I was attempting to do on the outside to cover my prejudice, it was all going on at the level of my heart.

In Chapter Two of his letter, Dr James runs another diagnostic test to reveal another respectable sin hidden in our attitude to those we somehow deem beneath us or above us in status.

How are you doing on the favouritism front? Do you look at people with Jesus’ eyes? Or with haughty eyes?

James 2:1 – ‘My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism.’

James sets up the facts at the beginning: Jesus is the glorious one. He is the source of glory. He’s the one who decides what or who is valuable or worthy.

Yet He showed no favouritism in His earthly ministry. He hung out with the absolute no-hopers of society. He shows no social favouritism in whom He chooses to belong to His family, be they rich or poor.

But this respectable sin of favouritism reveals the disease of proud double-mindedness in His followers. It rears its ugly head in the way we judge each other. James 2:2-4 – ‘Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you”, but say to the poor man, “You stand there or sit on the floor by my feet”, have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?’

If I, in any way, judge someone by external factors – judging what is worthy or unworthy by someone’s appearance or social standing – I’m committing two of the proud double-minded sins. I’m acting as if I’m God, judging between people; and I’m breaking God’s law of love.

So, how do we show discrimination in our relationships? It may be based on wealth, but also on class or race or age.

How many barriers have we erected to stop anyone, whoever they are, feeling welcome and comfortable in our church family?

It’s not something we admit to openly, we probably wouldn’t say to someone who’s a bit shabby in church: ‘Oi, Stinker – sit over there at the back by that open door!’

No, it’s just quietly shown in the way we act: shown in the way we set up our services and buildings; shown in the people we choose to spend time with, the people we choose to sit with… how we speak to people we perceive to be somehow beneath us – how we politely patronise them.

Do we treat nice respectable visitors or preachers with more honour than the passing drifter who just wants a cup of tea?

We call it protocol, don’t we? Jesus calls it evil discrimination – look at verse 4! We call it respect where respect is due. Jesus calls it merciless law breaking – look at verse 9: ‘But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as law-breakers.’

Would we go out of our way to befriend (and I mean befriend, not patronise) someone in church who is awkward and chippy, dresses funny, and doesn’t seem to like us? Or do we show favouritism in our local church? Is our friendship group made up entirely of somebodies who are like us and who like us?

This is serious. It’s worth meditating on these verses again, praying for the Lord to reveal our own deep-seated prejudice and to repent. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to sincerely pray along with King David in Psalm 131:1 – ‘My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty…’