PARTIALITY

August 15^th, 2016

PARTIALITY

James 2:1-13

James talks about partiality. It's a very important subject, since we often tend to use it. During the Reform and the reign of King Charles IX, there was great persecution (Saint Bartholomew). After this event, the king fell gravely ill. He suffered greatly. His royal physician was a protestant, Ambroise Paré. King Charles asked him if it would be fair to treat the king better than one treats poor people. But Paré always treated rich and poor in the same way. He always acted according to the word of God.

God chose the poor to become rich. It's an unusual moral, as the poor are considered as the elect, rather than the rich. The poor seek a new status, that of citizen in the kingdom of God, while the rich are satisfied with the wealth of this world. Jesus Christ said, « Blessed are the poor in spirit ». These kinds of people are humble enough to search for what has heavenly worth. James called the poor rich in the kingdom of God. It does not mean that they must stay poor, but that they must seek spiritual wealth.

James was unusual because he transformed the sense of value in presenting the subject of partiality as a law, the law of liberty (theologians). We have to look at it from a believer's point of view. Through this text, we catch a glimpse of who God is. In him, there is no partiality. We must imitate him, otherwise, we will offend him.

James also lists mercy as another attribute of God (7). Mercy triumphs over judgement. We must also show mercy. In God, there is no partiality, and in him there is mercy. We must abandon our tendancy to show partiality and become conformed to the image of Christ.