We’re looking for the wrong kind of glory in people
Whether it’s a celebrity, winning the championship game, or the breathtaking view at the top of a mountain, our hearts are attracted to glory for better or worse.
Our attraction to celebrities
I think I’ve said before that I enjoy reading biographies. It could be influential theologians or pastors from church history. It could be world leaders. It could be famous authors or popular musicians.
Well, I was on vacation recently and saw a Michael Jackson impersonator perform, and I thought to myself, You know, I’ve never read a Michael Jackson biography. I don’t have any special interest in him necessarily. I’m not a huge Michael Jackson fan, but now that I think about it, I am curious about some things. So, I got one and began reading.
Well, just as I thought, he was a very strange man. But here’s why I mention it. Everyone knew he was a strange man. When he was at the height of his popularity, the media and tabloids never stopped reminding the public how strange he was. He has a pet monkey. His best friends seem to be children. He’s undergone his umpteenth plastic surgery. His skin is a different color each day. He’s dangling his infant son from a balcony in Germany. He and Paul McCartney are good friends. No, he betrayed McCartney, buying the entire Beatles’ catalog out from under him. He’s a Christian. No, he’s a Jehovah’s Witness. No, he might be a Muslim now. He’s rich. No, he’s broke and in debt. He’s addicted to painkillers. He overdosed on painkillers. He’s secretly married. No, he’s divorced. No, he’s married again to Elvis’s daughter. Scratch that. He’s divorced again. He’s on trial for charges of child molestation.
The public knew all of these things, and yet he remained one of the best-selling artists of all time. Promoters paid him tens of millions of dollars to show up and perform at a single concert. Why? It’s because they knew they could pack stadiums of people clamoring to see him. They could air the concert on TV later, and millions more would watch. Millions more would rush to the music store to buy the video. People loved Michael Jackson and, for decades, couldn’t get enough of him.
There were times when he would sneak away on vacation only to discover throngs of fans already surrounding the place he was staying. Entire police departments had to be stationed outside. Women screamed in his presence. Many of them fainted simply because they caught a glimpse of the great Michael Jackson. Some of you probably remember the same thing happening with Elvis or The Beatles. These days, Taylor Swift elicits a similar kind of madness. But Michael Jackson stands out to me because he was such a strange and controversial guy. Yet, people went absolutely crazy over him.
But, of course, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc 1:9). We have always been drawn to attractive, wealthy, and powerful people. The only curious thing in our day is that we seem to be drawn to famous people who are famous only because they’re famous. Think of social media influencers. Think of the Kardashians. We don’t even know why they’re celebrities, but millions of people are still attracted to them. Millions of people follow them. At least Michael Jackson could sing and dance.
The crowds abandoned God in the flesh
Well, as I’ve read about the countless people who practically worshiped Michael Jackson, I started to think about our Lord Jesus Christ. I suppose he had his moments of fanfare, but here’s the summary the apostle John gives us: “He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (Jn 1:10, 11).
In John chapter 6, thousands upon thousands of people flocked to Christ. In fact, even after he left and crossed the sea, they followed him all the way around. They were so enamored with him that they wanted to take him by force to make him king (Jn 6:15). But before they could, Jesus wanted them to understand who he truly was. He said, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again” (Jn 6:35). And you would have thought that message would have made him even more attractive to the people. What ordinary king can guarantee you will never be hungry or thirsty again? The rich and powerful have been talking about eradicating hunger for a long time, but not much has changed.
Well, Jesus continued explaining himself. And by the end, we’re told, “From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him” (Jn 6:66).
Michael Jackson couldn’t offer anything more than a few pop songs and some impressive dance moves, yet fans wouldn’t abandon him for anything. Complete strangers stood outside the courtroom to support him when he was on trial. But when the God of glory came in the flesh to rescue us from eternal damnation and give us life everlasting, nearly everyone shrugged him off. When he healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, and even raised the dead, they plotted to kill him.
We are glory-hungry creatures with divided love
Well, of course, we’re studying the book of James in the New Testament, and by now, you may be wondering what Michael Jackson and celebrities have to do with anything. Well, here is what James writes at the start of James chapter 2: “My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (Jas 2:1). J.B. Phillips offers a helpful paraphrase. He says, “Don’t ever attempt, my brothers, to combine snobbery with faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ!” The two don’t go together. They don’t mix.
In his book, Radically Whole, David Gibson frames this issue as a matter of glory. He says, “God has made us glory-hungry creatures; we’re drawn to it.” Whether it’s a celebrity, or winning the championship game, or the breathtaking view at the top of a mountain, our hearts are attracted to glory for better or worse. Gibson writes:
James’s basic assumption, as he writes this part of his letter, is that we are wired to love glory. In everyday life, we speak, act, think, and make decisions in hundreds of ways that reflect our hearts’ attraction to glory.
It’s in the things we love. It’s in the way we judge. But as we’ve discussed, James sees some pretty troubling inconsistencies in the church. We are called to love the LORD our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength—that’s singular devotion—but even worse than a half-hearted love, James says we may have a divided love (Dt 6:5). That’s, in part, what he means when he refers to the double-minded person (Jas 1:8).
You see, the double-minded person is attempting to go in two opposite directions at the same time. He claims to love God, but he clearly loves the world. In chapter 4, James writes, “Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” (Jas 4:4).
The double-minded person also claims to have wisdom, making judgments according to a God-given standard, but his judgments are proving altogether worldly. In chapter 2 and verse 4, James says, “Haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (Jas 2:4).
A twisted pursuit of glory in people
I suppose before I go any further, I should read the text. If you want to follow along, go with me to James chapter 1. I’ll read James 1:26 through James 2:13. As you’ll see, this is one of those places where we have an unfortunate chapter break. Frankly, James is one of those books that’s hard to know where best to divide it.
Here’s what it says:
If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also comes in, if you look with favor on the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,” haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my dear brothers: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? Yet you have dishonored the poor. Don’t the rich oppress you and drag you into court? Don’t they blaspheme the good name that was invoked over you?
Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you are a lawbreaker.
Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 1:26-2:13)
So, we are a glory-seeking people. Specifically, we are naturally drawn to the glory of people—the rich, the famous, the powerful. But James says our pursuit of glory in people can be very twisted. It’s corrupted. Our love is misplaced. And as a result, our judgments about people are short-sighted, to say the least.
Favoritism in the church
Imagine arriving at church next Sunday only to find every seat has been reserved for different groups of people. The first rows are reserved for people who make more than $100,000 a year. The next rows are reserved for $75,000 or more. The next are saved for $50,000 or more. The more money you make, the better seats you get.
Or, let’s say someone stands at the door and watches as you come in. He looks out at the car you drive. He glances at your clothing. Maybe he observes the way you carry yourself. As you approach, maybe he says, “So, tell me about yourself. What do you do for a living? Where do your kids go to school? What are your hobbies?” Then, he takes all of this information and makes a determination about which group you belong to and seats you accordingly.
I think we would all find something unsettling about that, especially in the context of the church. But to some degree, that’s precisely what James sees happening. I don’t think the seats were marked. I don’t think someone was standing at the door, grouping people by class, or race, or anything else, but he accuses these early Christians of showing favoritism.
Now, James probably intends this to be hypothetical or at least exaggerated, but he’s trying to capture the spirit of what they are doing when he compares how they treat a wealthy person versus a poor person.
As subtle as it may be, James sees their tendency to treat people differently. Verse 1: they are showing favoritism (Jas 2:1). Verse 4: they are making distinctions from one person to the next (Jas 2:4). In other words, they are looking at the glory of a person (or the lack thereof) and treating them accordingly. To the wealthy, they smile wide, open their arms, and say, “Hello, brother, great to see you. Please come sit with me.” But to the poor, they say, “Oh, hey. There’s probably a seat back there somewhere.”
Strongly conditional love
I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we can admit that we all think this way at times. As it happens, our love is often conditional. But it’s not even conditioned upon how people treat us. Sadly, our love can be conditioned upon a person’s mere appearance. I remember reading about an experiment where a man dressed in a black overcoat asked people for money in New York City. He claimed he had lost his wallet and needed just a few dollars for a taxi. But as he continued the experiment, he would occasionally change from the black overcoat to a brown one. And what he found was that he received more money from more people when he wore the brown coat.
Now, obviously, that doesn’t make any sense at all. What rational reason could there be for being more generous to someone wearing a brown coat than to someone wearing a black coat? Well, there isn’t one. It doesn’t make any sense at all, but without even thinking, we make these kinds of judgments all the time, and James says, “Don’t you see what you’re doing? You are determining your love, your loyalty, who’s worthy of your time and attention by outward, superficial, meaningless distinctions.”
Now, this problem, especially as it pertains to the rich and the poor, would have been a bit more obvious in the first century because the middle class didn’t exist. You didn’t have a bunch of people somewhere in the middle. For all practical purposes, you had the rich, and you had the poor. There was a pretty clear distinction between them.
In our day, we can certainly be guilty of this kind of “snobbery,” as J.B. Phillips phrased it, but favoritism comes in all shapes and sizes. I once had a pastor confess to me that they intentionally built their new church in a wealthy neighborhood to attract wealthy people. Of course, he claimed they were only interested in wealthy people because those people could more easily support their different ministries around the world. In another case, a deacon told me his church would never let a black person join. He cited irreconcilable cultural differences. “It would never work,” he said. “We’re just too different.”
At my former church, we instituted a fellowship luncheon every Sunday. When I first came to that church, I felt there was far too little fellowship among members. Everyone met together for a couple of hours on Sunday for worship, but then we went our separate ways until the following Sunday. So, I suggested we stay together for lunch.
But then I noticed another problem. You would have thought we had designated assigned seating at the lunch tables. The same people sat with the same people every week. Why? No one was trying to show favoritism. No one was trying to discriminate against anyone, but cliques formed. People had their favorite lunch partners and that’s with whom they sat week after week.
Pure and undefiled religion
Even in the early church, favoritism reared its ugly head, not only regarding the rich versus the poor. Read Ephesians. Read Galatians. In fact, the apostle Paul once had to confront Peter because he was showing favoritism. Listen to this account from Galatians 2:
When Cephas [or Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatians 2:11-14)
Even Peter wasn’t immune. Now, he knew better than to show partiality toward Jewish Christians over Gentile Christians, but in our fallen nature, we don’t always love people the way we should. We don’t always judge people the way we should. Of course, we can hardly be surprised that Peter was drawn to the Jews. They were, after all, his people. I think we’re all naturally drawn to people who are like us—people who look like us, talk like us, think like us, like the same things, and have the same background.
But this is not how God loves. This is not how we are commanded to love. Look back at James chapter 1. “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (Jas 1:27).
Again, this comes immediately before chapter 2. So, what do you think is happening here? Well, it would seem that at least some of these early Christians were not looking after orphans and widows in their distress (Jas 1:27). Instead, they were showing favoritism toward the wealthy (Jas 2:1). They were essentially ignoring the people who needed them most to give all their attention to people who—I don’t know—seemed the most glorious. Maybe this is a matter of self-interest. What can the poor do for me? Probably nothing. But the rich— I might benefit from befriending the rich.
But as James says, first of all, this is not pleasing to God. This is not pure and undefiled religion before God the Father (Jas 1:27). This is a sick and twisted perversion of religion that does not honor God.
And second, favoritism and faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ do not mix (Jas 2:1). “Don’t ever attempt to combine [them],” Phillips says. That would be utterly double-minded. That’s attempting to walk in opposite directions at the same time. There’s nothing of Christ in that.
How does God love?
James says—this is verse 5: “Listen, my dear brothers: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? Yet you have dishonored the poor” (Jas 2:5, 6).
Now, James is doing two things here. First, he’s reminding us how God himself loves. And second, he’s setting up a very stark contrast between how God sees glory in people and how we typically see glory.
First, notice how God loves. Thankfully, he doesn’t reserve his love for only those who are worthy of it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t love anyone.
Remember that James draws heavily from the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. According to Jesus in Matthew 5, God chooses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are humble, those who are merciful, and those who are the peacemakers (Mt 5:3-5, 7, 9). At the end of Matthew 5, Jesus says:
You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)
God loves even his enemies. Paul writes, “While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Ro 5:10). That’s a far cry from our natural tendency. While these early Christians are showing partiality among fellow believers in the church, the Lord says we should love even our enemies. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:44, 45).
And even more to the point of this study, Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). You may remember that James uses this same word—perfect. It’s a word that refers to completeness. It refers to health and wholeness. So, as James addresses our double-mindedness and guides us toward wholeness, he teaches that love, or how we love, is an important part of that.
Appearances can be deceiving
Second, you’ll also notice the contrast James makes here. It gives us insight into how God perceives people. While these early Christians are drawn to the glory of people who are materially, externally wealthy, James points to the poor in this world and says God chose them to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (Jas 2:5). In other words, those who are truly rich, those who truly have any glory worth getting excited about are those whom God has chosen to be rich in faith.
As we all know, appearances can be deceiving. You likely remember what the Lord told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16. He said, “The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1Sa 16:7). And we see this throughout Jesus’s ministry. In John 4, the disciples couldn’t believe Jesus was having an intimate conversation with a Samaritan woman. Many times, the Jewish leaders couldn’t believe Jesus was having fellowship with sinners, prostitutes, and tax collectors. That’s unbecoming of any self-respecting Jew, but the supposed Messiah?
Impartiality was the Lord’s reputation. Do you remember when Jewish leaders went to Jesus to question him about paying taxes? They approached him and said, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and you don’t show partiality” (Lk 20:21). Now, maybe they were just trying to flatter him, but I think they were appealing to his reputation. This is how the general public knew him. Everyone knew him as a man of integrity. He didn’t show favoritism.
James encourages us to look beyond appearances. We need a heavenly perspective. You know, people like Michael Jackson radiate a kind of glory, and it’s easy to be mesmerized by it. He seemed larger than life. He performed before thousands and thousands of people. He was incredibly wealthy and influential. His photos were everywhere. But read his biography. He was a broken, tortured, often miserable man, and now he’s gone. What kind of glory is that?
Now, go and read the Gospels. What did Isaiah say about Jesus? “He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him” (Isa 53:2). This was true throughout his life, but it was especially true when he hung on the cross. Yet, he was God in the flesh. As John said, “The world was created through him” (Jn 1:10). When he hung on the cross, he accomplished the single most important thing that has ever taken place in the history of this world. But he had no appearance that we should desire him. He had no superficial glory. Oh, he had infinitely more glory than any man ever could, but it wasn’t the kind of glory people saw.
James says, “Look again. These brothers and sisters in the church whom you are keeping at arm’s length, who do you think they are? They are children of your Heavenly Father—the same as you, presumably. Do you know how much these people are worth to God? Look at the cross, and you’ll find the answer. These people are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (Jas 2:5). Do you want to know what kind of glory they have? Well, they share in the glory of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ (Jas 2:1). Can the rich in this world compete with that?”
Why favor the rich?
But James continues. In verse 6, he asks, “Don’t the rich oppress you and drag you into court? Don’t they blaspheme the good name that was invoked over you?” (Jas 2:6, 7). Now, he’s probably referring to wealthy Jews outside of the church who were using the civic courts to essentially harass Christians. If they couldn’t lock them up in prison, well, they could at least take them to court for one thing or another. And just like in our day, rich people tend to have an advantage over poor people in these cases.
So, James is essentially asking, “Why would you favor the rich?” Think about his arguments so far. First of all, he says God has special concern for the poor—for those who can’t help themselves. And we’re called to do the same, which James describes as “pure and undefiled religion before God the Father” (Jas 1:27).
Second, favoritism and faith in Christ don’t mix (Jas 2:1). If we’re seeking any glory, particularly in people, other than the glory of Christ, something is terribly wrong. We are not loving as we should, and our judgment is compromised.
Third, God loves the poor in this world (Jas 2:5). He has chosen them to be rich in faith. Now, this doesn’t mean every poor person is chosen, of course, and it doesn’t mean the rich can’t be saved, but James is speaking in general terms here. And he wants the church to see one another as God sees them, not as the world sees them.
And lastly, James reminds these brethren that most, if not all, of the persecution and trouble they’ve faced has come from wealthy people, which begs the question, “What do you find so appealing about material wealth and those who possess it?”
You know, we could ask ourselves the same question. Our circumstances may be considerably different than they were in James’s day, but we still frequently find ourselves attracted to the wrong kind of glory in people.
Violating the royal law
Well, James continues—verse 8:
Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you are a lawbreaker. (James 2:8-11)
So, in case we think showing partiality is a minor offense, probably not even worth mentioning, James says think again. It’s a violation of God’s law. It is sin.
Now, anyone with a good Jewish upbringing might ask, “What are you talking about, James? Just because I prefer one type of person over another doesn’t mean I’ve violated the law. I honor my parents. I haven’t committed murder or adultery. I haven’t stolen from anyone. I haven’t bore false witness against anyone. What do you mean I violated the law?”
“Well,” James says, “That’s not how the law works.” While we tend to think of our sins as having varying degrees of severity, the truth is that one violation of the law is a complete violation. For example, you can’t tell a lie and excuse yourself by saying, “Well, at least I didn’t kill someone.” One violation is enough to condemn.
Furthermore, there’s also the matter of interpreting the law. Jesus dealt with this in his Sermon on the Mount. In one place, he said:
You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be subject to the court. Whoever says, “You fool!” will be subject to hellfire. (Matthew 5:21, 22)
You see, there’s the letter of the law, and then there’s the spirit of the law. And many of the Jews were guilty of intentionally ignoring the spirit of the law for the purpose of self-righteousness. You know, they could boast, “Look how righteous I am. I’ve never killed anyone.”
“Maybe not,” Jesus says, “but you wanted to. You’ve been angry with people. You’ve insulted people. You’ve essentially committed murder in your heart.” And let’s not forget what the law explicitly states in Leviticus 19: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). James calls this “the royal law” (Jas 2:8). Jesus said:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands. (Matthew 22:37-40)
In short, we can’t skirt around our obligation to God’s law. We can’t get off on a technicality. We can’t claim to fulfill God’s law by claiming our violations of it are so-called “lesser sins.”
In fact, this issue of favoritism in the church is quite serious. I mean, when Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he essentially described it as a gospel issue. Now, their situation in Ephesus was a little different. It was a potential divide between Jews and Gentiles rather than rich and poor, but the principle is the same. Paul said, “Christ is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility,” which is to say, “We don’t dare build it again” (Eph 2:14). He goes on to write:
You are no longer foreigners and strangers [that is, with one another], but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19, 20)
So, favoritism is not a so-called lesser sin. It’s serious. Furthermore, it’s evidence of a divided heart, which is a violation of what Jesus called “the greatest and most important command” (Mt 22:38). The divided hearts says, “I love God, but I don’t love his law.” It says, “I am loved by God, but I don’t want to love like God.” It says, “I believe God is our judge, but I’d rather judge people myself.”
We need mercy
But do you know what every last one of us stands in need of? It isn’t judgment. It’s mercy. Verse 12: “Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (Jas 2:12, 13).
So, as we interact with one another, James offers two guiding principles—love and mercy. We can’t go wrong if we love as God loves and show mercy as he shows mercy.