THE SIN OF
DISCRIMINATION (James 2:1-13)
Introduction: I want us to take a moment and stand in
solidarity and share in the pain of a family, a community and a nation that is
mourning and outraged by the gruesome murder of George Floyd. The world has
witnessed the recent riots, anger, and unrest that was unleashed due to the cruel
death of our brother George in the hands of an inhuman white police officer.
Did
I say our brother, George? Yes, he indeed was our brother. What makes me say he
is our brother is an article I read in Christianity today. Here is an excerpt,
“The rest of the country knows George Floyd from several minutes of cell phone
footage captured during his final hours. But in Houston’s Third Ward, they know
Floyd for how he lived for decades—a mentor to a generation of young men and a
“person of peace” ushering ministries into the area.”[1]
“George
Floyd was a person of peace sent from the Lord that helped the gospel go
forward in a place that I never lived in, said the Pastor.” When one of our
brothers from the family of God has been murdered unjustly, where is the outcry
from the white Evangelical Christian Community? The Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu
noted, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side
of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you
say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
We
don’t want to remain silent and neutral; we want to raise our voices against
injustice and police brutality. We need to call out wherever we see racism and
discrimination raise its ugly head and put people who are made in the image of
God against each other. We don’t want to be discipled by Fox News nor by MSNBC.
Instead, we want to be informed and enlightened by God’s word and take
appropriate actions on matters of racism, discrimination as God leads us. I
want to share with us today from scriptures about “The Sin of Discrimination.”
James 2:1-13.
I
know this is a sensitive topic under the heightened situation in our country.
However, we need to have grace and patience to listen to each other and hear
our struggles. By doing so, we will together and, with the help of God, could
begin the process of healing.
So,
let the conversation begin. How do we understand discrimination? “Discrimination
is the act of making distinctions between human beings based on the groups,
classes, or other categories to which they are perceived to belong.”[2] For example, “An African American drinking
from a racially segregated water cooler marked "Colored” in Oklahoma City,
1939.” Do racism and discrimination still exist in our society these days?
Let’s
face it whether we publicly acknowledge or not; we all carry biases and
prejudices in our hearts, and they often determine how we behave or respond
towards specific individuals. Our response against racism and discrimination
depends on the lens through which we see them—several glasses through which we
see racial and all other forms of discrimination.
For
instance, we have a media lens, a political lens, and economy lens, a historical
lens, religion lens, and the Biblical lens, through which glass are you viewing
discrimination today? For a moment, let us put on the Biblical lens and see how
that might change our perception and participation in the prevailing events in
our country. How does God view discrimination?
I. GOD HATES DISCRIMINATION
When God looked at everything he
created in the world, he said, “It was good and very good.” Until he saw the
man whom he created in his image was lonely, he said, “It is not good for man
to be alone.” God wanted man to live in a community, so he created the woman. The first couple was sinless and lived
in harmony with God and with one another. Through them, God intended to bring
forth ideal humanity that would live in a perfect world.
But
as we know, all that was changed when Satan tempted Adam and Eve. The first
couple for momentary gratification disobeyed God’s commands, and as a result,
sin entered the world. From that point on, once a perfect world lost its
perfection. Shame, fear, jealousy, anger, violence, murder, and rebellion
against God became the norm rather than an exception.
How
did God feel when he saw His world crumbling under the weight of its sin?
Genesis 6:5-6, “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth,
and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and
totally evil. So, the Lord was sorry (grieved) he had ever made them and put
them on the earth. It broke his heart.”
In
other words, God’s heart was filled with pain when he saw the continual
wickedness of humanity. What do you think God goes through when he sees his
people who are made in his image, discriminating and killing one another? By
looking at scriptures, I am sure that God was grieved and pained in his heart
when he saw the white police office mercilessly placing his knee for over eight
minutes on the neck of George Floyd.
We
all are outraged and hurt when we saw George gasping for breath and pleading
the officer to take his knee off, why? Because that’s how God feels. Our God
not only hates these cruel acts, but he also deals with the oppressors. To that
extent, He has put down specific laws against discrimination and how people are
to treat one another with decency and human dignity.
II THE SIN OF
DISCRIMINATION
Is discrimination of any kind
against people at any time acceptable? Is it a societal construct, a human
weakness, a cultural bias, or a Sin? How should we respond when we see
injustice and racial discrimination? Malachi 3:5, “I will speak against those
who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who
deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not
fear me,” God wants judges to be fair and impartial.
Leviticus
19:15, “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being
partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.” God will judge
those who discriminate, Col 3:25, “But if you do what is wrong, you will be
paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.”
God's
word is unambiguous in telling us that all men and women are created equal, and
every single person can be a child of God, receiving the full inheritance of
heaven. God wants to blow away our racial bias and superiority as He did for
the Apostle Peter. Acts 10:34-36,
“Then
Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every
nation, he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message
of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus
Christ, who is Lord of all.”
It
is an interesting note here. Peter says, “I see very clearly that God shows no
favoritism.” Up until that point, perhaps he held a view that salvation was
only for the Jews, as they were God’s chosen race. He saw the Gentiles as
unclean and not deserving to be saved. God had to make right that wrong perception
of Peter by giving him a heavenly vision; then, he saw clearly that God showed
no favoritism. I pray that God will open our eyes, as well.
III. HOW SHOULD WE
RESPOND TO DISCRIMINATION?
When
we put on the biblical lens, we see no partiality because the Bible tells us we
are to love and love and serve everyone no matter what their age, color, ethnicity,
gender, nationality, or economic status is. Galatians 3:28-29, “There is no longer Jew
or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ
Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham.
You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”
When
we accept Christ as our savior, we all will belong to the family of God. Last
week Pat spoke to us about us being Jesus’ True Family. It is a powerful truth
to know and to live by.
In
the passage, we read James gives some practical ways concerning how to behave
towards each other in the family of God. He starts by questioning their faith
in Christ in the first place. Vs. 1, “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you
claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people
over others? From Vs. 2-4, he addresses the abuse of the poor by the rich and
exposes their discriminatory practices guided by their evil motives.
In
Vs. Five, he elevates the status of the poor in the world by saying, God has
chosen them to be rich in their faith. If they love God, they, too, will
inherit the Kingdom of God. That very privilege tends to mean so much more to
the poor.
In
Vs. 6-7, he takes on the rich oppressors and says to them they are an
embarrassment because they slander the name of Christ through their oppressive
behavior towards the poor. In Vs. 8-12, he condemns favoritism and
discrimination as sin and challenges them to obey all of the commandments and
not to pick and choose as they liked, in Vs. Thirteen, he urges them to be
merciful to others as God would be gracious towards them in the day of
judgment.
I
gave you a snapshot of James 2:1-13. I encourage you at home to wrestle with
this passage in prayer. Ask God to forgive your sin of discrimination. And show
you how you might take appropriate actions wherever and whenever you see
oppression and discrimination.
Here
is the challenge from Jesus, who took on the corrupt and oppressive regime of
the Roman empire of his time. “You are truly my disciples if you remain
faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set
you free.” John 8:31-32
Dr.
Eric Mason, in his book Woke Church about racism and injustice, puts it this
way: “We have the tool of God’s Word to help us become change agents–to make a
difference in our spheres of influence. The gospel is the truth that unites us.
It
is the common ground that knits our souls together as one. “I pray that the biblical
truth about discrimination sets us free and unite us so that together as one
body, we can combat racial discrimination and other implicit bias.
All
those who believe in Christ belong to the family of God. When one of our
members hurts, we all hurt. Right now, our black family members are in pain.
Can their pain be ours too? We need to
be working together to bring it to an end. How do we do that practically?
There
are many suggestions, action plans, and resources available to fight for
justice. However, use caution and discretion. The first step for some of us may
be to start building meaningful relationships and be willing to hear, listen,
learn, regard, and esteem the other person. We, as a church, are asking
questions regarding what our role is in the ongoing struggle of black and other
ethnic minorities in our country? I pray that God will give each of us creative
ways to address discrimination appropriately when we see it. I want us to leave pondering this question, “What
Would Jesus Do if he were to walk the troubled streets of America?”
I Pray that God the source of Hope, will fill
you completely with Joy and Peace because you trust in him. Then you will
overflow with confident hope through the Power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans
15:13) Amen
[1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/may/george-floyd-ministry-houston-third-ward-church.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination#Religious_beliefs
