“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.” -James 2:8,9.
When we are talking about the respect of persons in the Biblical sense, I think that the book of James, and these opening verses describe it well. We shall love our neighbors as ourselves, treating others in the way we would like to be treated (Matthew 7:12); fairly and courteously.
The “respect of persons” which the Bible speaks against pertains to giving some people favor over others, when all men are equal in God's eyes: all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Usually it is the rich being promoted, and the poor are typically ignored at best, and despised at worst. Listen to the Lord;
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” -Luke 16:13-15.
“Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” -Ecclesiastes 9:16.
There is an ongoing respect of persons problem in the world, and it is as bad in the church as in any other place. Rather than putting people on a pedestal, God's people, are told to weigh all matters in the light of God's Word (John 3:21), not to judge only by appearance (John 7:24), search the scriptures to verify teachings (Acts 17:11), and to “test” all spirits (I John 4:1). It is a shame that we Christians keep giving great esteem to the rich or materially successful, when they are seldom the ones God will call;
“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” -I Corinthians 1:26-29.
We see the symptoms of this disease in our dealings here with the churches in Botswana. There is definitely an undo esteem for white visitors which carries over from the world. To see white people would represent money, at least from tourism, and these countries are accustomed to getting money from Western nations. We are relatively poor, but are still afforded many undo privileges-until our real financial state is discovered! Now onto a few "disease" symptoms of note.
First of all there are MANY apostles & prophets here, or so they say. There were really only 12 apostles, and Paul was the last. There could be prophets here, but I haven't heard of a godly one yet. All these self-proclaimed prophets, without exception, are prosperity teachers. Yes, there may be a real prophet somewhere, but at least the ratio would be lopsided, like in I Kings 22. And yes, the women have gotten in on the act, also (I Timothy 2:9-14). There is no concern for Bible doctrine.
Secondly, there is a great separation between the clergy and the congregation. Laymen share, but they open up their time by greeting everyone; they greet pastors, mothers, fathers, and children as separate groups. Why not greet afterward? This takes about 20 minutes out of every service, yet they are concerned about time. Worse still, when the pastors speak, they never greet anyone! After services, there is no fellowship between clergy and laymen. When some had come to help with yard work at our apartment, they didn't talk with us there, either.
But we see this problem all throughout the culture and in other churches we've attended. In one church the pastor and his wife had a nice loveseat to sit on, while the congregation had cheap plastic chairs. Then in another church, there were 4 men seated in the front row & center; sometimes during the sermon the pastor would step down from the platform, and these 4 would stand! See Job 29:8. And another thing that is quite common, the leaders would only make their entrance LATE, drawing attention and admiration. Church leaders not attending their full service?
Yet it is the flattering titles that people crave-it's a real ego booster. "Man of God" is the common description for someone dedicated to serving Christ. I can't help but think of the contrast; Jesus, the Son of God, in humility called Himself, "the Son of man;" but a mere man in a flawed earthen vessel is being called "man of God." Follow the scriptures, and lose the flattering titles;
"Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away." -Job 32:21,22.
Probably the worst thing about the respect of persons issue is that it grants a great opportunity for false teachers to enter the body of Christ (Matthew 24:24, Acts 20:28-31, 2 Peter 2, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Jude 3-5). Who rebukes the leaders? Haven't we learned anything from all of the fallen big name preachers? ALL are accountable! Within each Christian is a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), and the mind of Christ (I Corithians 2:15,16). We must not allow respected leaders to teach another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9), spreading doctrines of lies-we must stand up to them. Only too many times we feel inferior, usually because the person to confront is rich & respected.
"Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts." -Psalm 119:98-100.
"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." -I John 2:27.
Please consider the words I write, and hold all things up to the light of God's Word. Once upon a time a man called himself, "the vicar of Christ," and claimed God authorized him as such. A long, long time later, people read the sacred scriptures from which this man claimed authority; they discovered that he had LIED! Let us learn from history, not repeating such a terrible mistake.
"Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour." -Leviticus 19:15.
"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." -Matthew 23:8-12.
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." -Acts 10:34,35.
See also Deuteronomy 1:17, 16:19; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Psalm 40:4; Proverbs 28:21; Matthew 7:20-23, 15:12-14; Luke 22:24-27; John 13:3-5; Acts 10:25,26, 14:11-15; Romans 2:11, 3:10-12; Ephesians 6:9; I Corinthians 4:7; Colossians 3:25; James 2:1-4; I Peter 1:17.
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