My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
In this section James develops his theme of relations between the rich and the poor, boldly attacking here the discrimination that society often practices between the two. It seems very likely that he is writing about things that actually happened in the community. James believes that God has no favorites but loves everyone, so why should humans not do the same? Significantly, the name of Jesus (which only occurs twice in this letter) appears in verse one. By invoking Jesus, James invokes the example he gave, and, throughout his life, Jesus showed a real interest in those rejected by society or on its margins.
James develops this idea in verses two and three, by giving an example of how Christians should not behave. He intends it to shock his readers because the behavior of the Christian community certainly goes against the morality that Jesus taught. Someone dressed in an ostentatious way, designed to show their wealth, is welcomed to the service and given the best seat while the obviously poor man is insulted by being told either to stand or sit in a subservient position. James expects us to condemn with him the behavior of the congregation. Note too, the reference to the synagogue, which is the only time the word is used in the New Testament to refer to a place of Christian worship and illustrates the importance of James’s Jewish origins.
In the next verses, James asks two rhetorical questions which call on us to reject this type of behavior Indeed, Jesus expressly says that we should not judge others, or we will be judged (and the implication is found failing) ourselves. With such behavior, the Christian community betrays Jesus’ values. In verse five, James reminds his readers that God has chosen the poor as heirs to his kingdom. By rejecting and dishonoring the poor, we reject God.
In the last verses, James attacks the rich directly. He once again uses the device of rhetorical questions to show how absurd the community’s behavior is. All too many of the rich oppress Christians and even help in their persecution, dragging them before the courts for punishment. Even more serious, in James’s eyes, they blaspheme the name of Christ and thus of God. James asserts that the community has sided with the enemies of God against those he has particularly blessed. Instead of mirroring God’s values, the community has adopted those of the world and so have betrayed the faith they claim to espouse.
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