Treat Others as You Wish to be Treated

Sunday, September 13th, 2026

8:12 am

Good morning! Today I am in James 2:1-13. James asks us, how can we claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if we favor some people over others? Treating those who appear rich better than those who are poor. Saying that if we do this, we are actually showing that our judgments are guided by evil motives. He tells us that God has chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith, for they are the ones that will inherit the Kingdom God, promised to those who love Him. But we dishonor the poor and honor the rich that oppress people and drag people to court, and that also slander the name of Jesus Christ. He reminds us that Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but if we are showing favoritism to some people, we are committing a sin. And if we commit even just one sin, we are guilty of breaking all of God's laws. He goes on to tell us that in whatever we say and do to remember that we will be judged by the law that sets us free. And there will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others, but if we have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges us.

James is warning us to be careful of how we treat others. To not think of some people higher than others. Reminding us that God does not show favoritism to anyone, so we too should not show favoritism. We are to treat others how Jesus Christ treated others with love and kindness, no matter what their status is. He helped anyone that acknowledge Him as their Lord and Savior, and He does the same thing for us today. Because just like James tells us in verses 12&13, we will be judged with the same judgement we use to judge others here on earth.

We are to not look at those that are wealthy as they are better because we do not know how they obtained their wealth. Reminding us that just because someone is rich, does not mean they are favored by God, because God shows no favoritism. But God does bless those that put their faith in trust in Him alone. All those that humble themselves and put their faith and trust in Him, will inherit the Kingdom of God. When James states that the poor will inherit the Kingdom, he is quoting Jesus from Matthew 5:3 and Luke 6:20. When we are poor, we understand how much we need God. But when we are rich and doing well, we usually forget about God, thinking we have accomplished everything on our own. The rich have a hard time seeing how God has helped them, they are usually blinded by pride. God warns us throughout His Word, that He is the one that blesses us with everything we have and need. He is the one that gives us every good thing. We must not become so prideful that we forget how much we need God.

God wants us to look to Him for everything we need. To look to Him for guidance in our everyday life, not to other people that look like they have their lives all together. And for us to know that it is through God's grace that we are still alive today. Every single day He is giving us another chance to come to Him, to get to know Him, and accept Him and what Jesus has done for us. He is still giving each of us a chance. He is the one that created everyone of us and He is the one that gives us the strength to keep getting up every single day. Trust Him and allow Him to guide you, not this world.