I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-16)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-16)

PURE AND FAULTLESS
So, rather than deceiving ourselves into believing we are religious,
we need to define what God considers as acceptable Christian
behavior. James must have anticipated our concern and provides
us with some valuable information.
    Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless
    is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress
    and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
    (James 1:27)

Regardless of how we are perceived by others, if we want to show the
Lord that we are sincere in our commitment as a believer, we need to
do the things He expects of us. When we have a desire to help orphans
and widows who are in need, then we are openly expressing an inward
faith.

We need to remember that helping others isn’t restricted to providing
financial help. Sometimes it means we should be a friend who will make
a special effort to encourage others and make them feel wanted. It can also
mean helping them to improve their self-esteem and allowing them to retain
their dignity.

As an example, my mother was a lot like Mrs. Cleaver in the TV show
Leave It To Beaver. If you have never seen the show, Mrs. Cleaver was
always dressed up when working in the kitchen or in any other setting.
She wore a dress and usually had some pearls around her neck. My
mother was similar to Mrs. Cleaver. She was usually dressed in a
manner that would allow her to leave the house and go shopping.

Later in life she had several strokes that affected her speech, her mobility,
her ability to cook, and her ability to feed herself without spilling food.
The challenge for me was to overlook these faults and act as normal as
possible whenever I visited her. This was not an easy task but I tried to
avoid embarrassing her in any way during my visits.

For instance, she could not remember to take her medicine as scheduled,
so we bought her a pill case with a compartment for each day of the week.
Whenever it was time to refill the pill case, I would make every effort to
carry on a casual conversation as I filled the compartments. I’m not sure
how she felt about me doing this for her because I never asked her. I just
wanted her to know that she had my companionship and respect.

It was more of a challenge when she spilled food all over the table and floor.
Again, I tried to carry on a casual conversation as I cleaned the table. If it was
really bad, I would escort her into the living room and go back to the kitchen
and clean the floor and/or counters. I could mention other instances but what
was important in all situations was to make every effort to help her retain her
dignity and feeling of worth. As her health continued to decline, the challenges
were much greater.

It also helped that I was blessed to have a wife with the gift of mercy who did
so much more than I did to help my mother (while at the same time helping her
own mother who was also declining in health). When you are young, you notice
the outward beauty of a person, but as you grow older you see an inner beauty
that is even more amazing. My wife is a living example of these two views.

James says that we please God with what we do inwardly and (not or) outwardly.
Some people stress the importance of what we do outwardly, but ignore what we
should do inwardly. Others stress the importance of personal purity, but fail to
point out the importance of reaching out to others. James says we should do both.

Another indication that our faith is real can be shown in our efforts to avoid being
polluted by the world. When we think of Jesus versus the world, we can see that
the two are diametrically opposed to each other. For instance,
    The world says,
        “Get all you can get”;
    Jesus says,
        “Give all you can give”.

    The world says,
        “Success is gaining wealth and fame”;
    Jesus says,
        “Success is pleasing God”.

    The world says,
        “Be forceful, aggressive and egotistical and you can achieve anything”;
    Jesus says,
        “The meek shall inherit the earth”.

We could list many more, but these three suffice to contrast the differences.

There are several points that James has highlighted as follows:
    – All good gifts come from God.
    – As Christians we should:
        – Be good listeners (listen more than speaking).
        – Think before speaking.
        – Control our anger.
        – Get rid of the sin in our lives.
        – Listen to and learn from God’s Word.
        – Apply God’s principles (the things we learn) to our own lives.
        – Study and meditate on God’s Word.
        – Control our tongue.
        – Consider those around us and look for
          opportunities to witness (in words and deeds).

FAVORITISM
When you think about members of a church, what are some characteristics
that you would look for in an ideal member? Would it be their reputation?
In other words, would you expect them to be well respected in the community
and have high moral standards? Should they be consistent in attending worship
and have a good knowledge of the bible? Would their financial and social status
be important?

If they are doing well financially, would you consider them an important factor
in helping the church meet its budget? If they have a high social status, would
you think they could be influential in convincing others to attend your church,
and possibly transfer their membership from another church? What about their
appearance? If they are neat and dressy, would they be a great ambassador for
the church?

What about members the church would be better without? What would you
look for? Someone who does not have a high financial or social status?
A person who could not help the church meet its budget and would not be
influential in getting others to visit your church? Would you exclude those
with low morals?

How about ones who are constant complainers? Would the church be better off
without those who brag about everything they own, every member of their family
and everything they have accomplished? Jesus opened His arms to all people and
as followers of Him, we need to do the same. We may think the church would be
better without some people, but we should never forget that they are all invitees
of God and we have no right to exclude anyone. In addition, God may have a
desire to teach us something through the very person we want to exclude.

The question we need to ask ourselves is,
    “How do we know what another person is like?”
In a lot of cases we make decisions based on their appearance,
but is that really fair? Whenever we judge someone on appearance
alone, we are pre-judging them because we do not know all the facts
about them (God is the judge and we are not; when we judge, we are
assuming His position of authority and pre-judging is the worst form
of judging). The scriptures tell us very succinctly that we are not to
judge –
    “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

As an example of ‘pre-judging’, when you see someone wearing a
three-piece suit and driving an expensive car, what do you think?
Do you assume that he or she is a successful business person? At
the other end of the spectrum, if you see someone who is wearing
ragged clothes and has unkempt hair, do you assume the person is
a street bum, or just generally a ‘good for nothing’ person?

If you were sitting in church, which one would you rather have sitting
next to you? Would it be the well-dressed person because you are afraid
the unkempt person may have body odor or be covered in germs? Or would
it be the person in ragged clothes because you assume the well-dressed person
is a phony and a braggart?

How would you feel if the members of the congregation were asked to stand
and hold hands? Would you be as comfortable holding hands with a person
in ragged clothes as you would be holding hands with a prominent person
such as Bill Gates? Would your choice be influenced by how others would
perceive you? In other words, would you feel prideful if others saw you
holding hands with a person of prominence? (God hates arrogant pride!)

Chances are that many would like to hold hands with a prominent person in
that situation, because it would appear to others that they know someone who
is considered special when measured by worldly standards. If you, the wealthy
person, and the one in ragged clothes were the only ones at church that day,
would your choice be different?

When is it okay to show favoritism? What do the scriptures say about it?
    My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious
    Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. (James 2:1)

The answer is plain and simple – if we are believers, we must not show
favoritism. This command is not just for believers alone.

    When Moses was recalling some things God said regarding His chosen
    people, he remembered that God commanded the judges to not show favoritism.
        And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes
        between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is
        between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner
        residing among you. Do not show partiality in judging; hear
        both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for
        judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for
        you, and I will hear it.” (Deuteronomy 1:16-17)

    God commanded His people not to show favoritism.
        Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor
        or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
        (Leviticus 19:15)

    Even God Himself did not show favoritism.
        There will be trouble and distress for every human being
        who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but
        glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first
        for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show
        favoritism. (Romans 2:9-11)

        Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work
        impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent
        fear. (1 Peter 1:17)

        Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is
        that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every
        nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
        (Acts 10:34-35)

Why would God command everyone to not show favoritism? Because He
is an impartial God who does not show favoritism. If we truly want to be
more like the Lord, then we need to mimic His characteristics as much as
possible. And yet, we see it often don’t we? Some will abruptly end their
conversation with one person whenever a well known, respected or wealthy
person walks into the room (it can even be someone they are just enamored
with and want to impress).

Why is the importance of impartiality stressed for all believers? Whenever
we show partiality, we are not being consistent in our relationships with
others. Whether it is fair or not, if others see our inconsistency in one area
of our life, they often assume that we are inconsistent in all areas of our life,
including our faith. They may see us attending church on a regular basis,
but wonder what our faith looks like when we are not in church.

Partiality can also lead to gossip (another characteristic that God does
not like). Two people could do exactly the same thing and we may find
ourselves defending the one we like and saying bad things about the one
we do not like.

Think about the impact we can have on others when we show partiality.
We can influence others to show favoritism as well. How? By convincing
them that one person is okay, but another is not. Whenever a person does
not like someone, quite often they will point out his or her faults in an
effort to turn others against him or her.

Favoritism is certainly not what God wants to see in His children.
Influencing others to also show partiality is even worse. This is a
reason we should guard the things we say, consider our reason for
saying them, and realize the impact our words can have on others.

One last consideration regarding favoritism:
    If our faith is in an impartial God, then why would we want to show
    partiality in the way we treat others? That is not how He treats us, is it?