God never had any favorites in the Bible. He loved and chastised His people throughout scripture, and even today, God will give us our comeuppance if we step out of bounds. God is a God of equality. He may not give us all the same thing. But He loves us equally.
“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? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, ‘You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor’ – well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?”
– James 2:1-7 [NLT]
When we claim to be Christians and show favoritism towards people, we are not acting Christlike. Today, in many churches, you have this high-school mindset where you have the “cool Christians” who are trendy, well-dressed, have nice jobs, and go on dates versus the “nerdy Christians” who spend more time talking about theology than celebrity gossip. Nerd Christians care more about spiritual growth than being popular.
I can identify with the poor Christian because I have been there and am still there. I was always an outcast growing up, and even now, as I started making friends at church and really got to grow spiritually, I still feel like an outcast at times. It’s those feelings that drove me closer to God. Most people build walls in their life to avoid feeling awkward, but because I faced being an outcast before, it makes it easier for me to embrace others who are different.
I can talk to anyone at church, not because I’m a social butterfly necessarily, but because I know what it is like to not feel welcomed. It’s the big reason why many kids on TikTok gravitate toward me. I make all my followers feel welcome, and as a result, I have over 6,000 followers on Tiktok. I’m showing kids that you can be popular and still be kind. If Christ can show love to everyone despite having the highest status in the universe, why can’t we?
0 Comments