Have you ever been at some networking event where someone avoided you because you were not dressed in fancy or expensive designer clothing? Have you witnessed discrimination in seating at an event in church because of social status/wealth or the lack of it thereof? Or have you ever been approached by someone and thought in your head that “nope, this person is not my type”. These are all examples of high mindedness and it is a sign of the lack of humility.
Slow down, I’m not trying to be judgmental here. We have all been been guilty of such habits or victims of similar incidents at some point in our lives for varied reasons. I’m only attempting to share lessons of humility drawn from the book of James with you. Now let us see what James says regarding this matter:
“My fellow believers, do not practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of partiality [toward people—show no favoritism, no prejudice, no snobbery]. For if a man comes into your meeting place wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, and you pay special attention to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, “You sit here in this good seat,” and you tell the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,” have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law? Do they not blaspheme the precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?” James 2:1-7 AMP
This scripture got me thinking though… “is it wrong to zone a person especially when for some reason your spirit does not ‘vibe’ with them?” How about if they have genuinely been rude to you instead or are just unpleasant (not just to you but confirmed by others who have interacted with them). I found the wisdom key in the below popular scripture:
“Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself. Never repay anyone evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:16-18 AMP
Certainly you can’t be everyone’s cup of tea, just as everyone can’t be yours. The salient truth however is to ensure that whatever you do or say is led by the Holy Spirit and pleasing in the sight of God. Motives, goals, agendas, dreams, plans and objectives for every individual on this planet are different and inspired by several combinations or even permutations of influences that we can’t even begin to analyze.
“If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]” you are doing well. But if you show partiality [prejudice, favoritism], you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as offenders. For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of [breaking] all of it. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you have become guilty of transgressing the [entire] Law. Speak and act [consistently] as people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty [that moral law that frees obedient Christians from the bondage of sin]. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.”James 2:8-13 AMP
How dreadful it would be that a child of God be accounted as guilty of transgressing the law after living all your life diligently obeying all the laws but failing at only one. Oh may God help us by His mercies to also be graceful and merciful unto one another so that mercy will speak for us on the day of judgement. The highest concern for every believer who fears God should be to please Him and hear Him say well done when we give our life’s account. He sees our hearts and knows our motives. Remember our faith needs to be validated by works but also these works will be tried by fire.
“What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.] If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,” but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective]. But someone may say, “You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].” You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]! But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless? Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]? You see that [his] faith was working together with his works, and as a result of the works, his faith was completed [reaching its maturity when he expressed his faith through obedience]. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and this [faith] was credited to him [by God] as righteousness and as conformity to His will,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man (believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience a born-again believer reveals his faith]. In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route? For just as the [human] body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead.”James 2:14-26 AMP
Interesting scripture above; Abraham was a just man who commanded His house based on God’s instructions. He backed his faith with works and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Rahab on the other hand was a harlot but she also validated her faith by her works when she kept the Hebrew spies and covered up for them leading to her salvation and deliverance as well as the triumph of Israel over Jericho. The key emphasis here is not just having works, but having works of obedience (that conform to the word and will of God). Essentially having works to validate our faith is not a feel-good formula where we do things that satisfy our souls and present them before God. It is a glorify-Him instruction where we as children of God are humbly submitted to God’s every leading as guided by the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget, it is mercy that speaks for us, not our own righteousness. Selah!
It is said that pride comes before a fall but the above is proof that humility will not just prevent you from falling but will guarantee that you attain great heights. May we be humble enough to show love without bias and be gracious and merciful to one another. May we be humble enough to show kindness and not just show love in words but in deeds. May we be humble enough to not be high minded and esteem ourselves better than others. May we be humble enough to prove our faith in God by zealously working in God’s vineyard. Let the word of God and it’s revelations thereof be so etched in our hearts that we never miss our way. Above all may the Holy Spirit lead us in all humility in Jesus’ precious Name.
With Love, Esinam.
Virtuous Living 