I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-21)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-21)

JUDGMENT AND MERCY
James shifts his attention to explain
the consequences of those who fail to show mercy.
    Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone
    who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
    (James 2:13)

Whenever we show favoritism, the odds are that we will not show mercy
in all situations. James implies that those who fail to show mercy are the
ones who are judgmental. It is as if the two should be mutually exclusive
(if you are merciful then you will not be judgmental). Showing mercy and
avoiding favoritism are two by-products of love. If we have any doubts of
this truth, all we need to do is observe the characteristics of Jesus Christ,
who was the epitome of love.

Those with a desire to be like Jesus need to understand that the ‘law of love’
demands much more than the ‘written law’. For example, the written law says
we should not commit adultery.
    You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)

The written law tells us what we should not be doing, but the law of love
gets to the root problem which is, a lack of love for our wives. In order to
avoid committing adultery, we should be focused on the cornerstone of
marriage, which is love.
    Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ
    loved the church and gave himself up for her.
    (Ephesians 5:25)

When it comes to marriage, who is better, the husband or the wife?
Neither. The husband is far superior to the wife at being a man. The
wife is far superior to the husband at being a woman. Both are equally
important in the structure of a family, however they are different in
composition and responsibilities.

Wives tend to be more romantic and husbands tend to want to make
and repair things. Men have more muscle mass and women have
a layer of subcutaneous fat that makes them softer. A wife’s lung
capacity is about thirty percent less than that of her husband.
Neither is better than the other, they are just different.
God has ‘wired’ us that way.

In summary, there are some things we should consider
if we are sincerely trying to live as a Christian:
    Showing favoritism is not only wrong, it is a sin. We need to
    avoid it with the same vigor and determination that we avoid
    any other sins.

    We should treat both the rich and the poor with the same level
    of respect. Treating the wealthy with respect is not wrong
    unless we are disrespecting those who are less fortunate.

    If we choose to ignore certain people, we could be missing a real
    blessing in knowing them. Some folks have much to offer and can
    be very interesting whenever they feel valued. Anyone we ignore,
    could be the type of person that we would love to have as friend if
    we really knew them. When we get to know them and they sense
    our respect for them, they will feel more comfortable around us.
    This gives us an opportunity to appreciate their real value.

    Our attitude toward others is a good measurement of our Christian
    maturity. If we continually look for their flaws and overlook their
    qualities then we are falling short in the area of Christian maturity.
    We should be focused on the positive traits of others.

    Gossip is a slippery slope that leads to favoritism. We may consider
    ourselves impartial, but once we engage in gossip it is just a matter
    of time until we start showing favoritism. This is one of the reasons
    the scriptures give us instructions to avoid gossiping.

    As Christians, we will be judged by what we do and say. We may not
    lose our salvation, but we cannot sin and get away with it. Ultimately
    all of our sins are against God Himself, but our words and actions can
    cause us to sin against others as well. The impact of our sins against
    others can have a long lasting impact on their lives and possibly ours
    as well.

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