Today we come to the James 2 and are looking at the question of who is worthy of our honor. In the very first verse, James says:
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. James 2:1 (ESV)
One day Jesus was eating dinner in the home of Simon the Pharisee. A woman, who was a sinner, comes to the house. She brings a jar of expensive perfume. She enters the house and begins to wipe Jesus’ feet with her tears and her hair. She kisses his feet and anoints them with the expensive perfume. It was extravagant and excessive.
As Simon is watching this unfold, he becomes angry. He is taken back at how Jesus would allow such a person to do such a thing. Simon would never allow such a person to touch him. It was beneath him.
Jesus responds by asking Simon a question:
A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more?” Luke 7:41–42 (ESV)
The obvious answer here is the one who had the larger debt canceled. Jesus goes on further to say:
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. Luke 7:44–47 (ESV)
There is a stark contrast between the way Simon and the woman treated Jesus. From a cultural standpoint, Simon dishonored and disrespected Jesus. Simon failed to offer proper hospitality to Jesus. Such hospitality would have been expected in the time and culture.
The woman honored Jesus above all. Simon considered himself “better” than the woman. His view of this woman stemmed from his view of Jesus. If did not hold Jesus in high regard, he would not hold this woman in high regard.
In James 2 we are told to show no partiality. We are to honor all regardless of their social standing and relationship with us. The way we honor others is a reflection of the relationship we have with Jesus.
Honor involves recognition
Honor first of all means recognition. Every life has value and worth. It does not matter if it is an unborn child or an elderly person confined to a wheelchair in the nursing home. Every person is precious to God and worthy of our attention. It does not matter if it is an orphan in an impoverished country or the child from a wealthy family. There are many who silently suffer in this world because they do not have a voice for themselves. We need to be their voice. We are called to recognize their plight and to stand up and fight for them.
Honor involves special privilege and favor
Honor means to give special privilege and favor. When the wounded warrior comes home, we hold a parade in their local town. We cheer them on during the intermission of sporting events. We give them special privilege and favor. Our veterans deserve our care because of the sacrifices they have made for us.
Those who are wealthy can buy special privilege and favor. They get the best seats in the house. They get special access that others do not. Privilege is attached to wealth and celebrity.
But James says to offer special privilege and favor to everyone – not just those who can buy it (see James 2:2-7). Consider for whom you are willing to go out of the way. Is it just those who have something to offer you in return? Do you go out of your way for those who have nothing to give?
There is a cost to honoring others
When the woman anointed Jesus’ feet, she broke open an expensive jar of perfume. It was incredibly costly for her.
Honoring others may cost you your money, your reputation, your time, or your friends. But when we honor others, we are honoring Christ. There is no cost too great to honor him.
A soldier talks about honor. Tied up in that honor is a willingness to give his life for his brothers and his country.
Most people are willing to help others as long as it does not cost them anything. They will donate to a charity if they have extra money. They will give their time to volunteer when it is convenient. We are often only willing to give of ourselves if it does not hurt.
Honoring those who do not deserve our honor
Conventional wisdom tells us to honor those who deserve honor. Christ tells us to go a step further and to honor even those who are not worthy of honor. Jesus sets the precedence. He honored us by giving his life on the cross. We did not deserve his honor, yet he gave everything to us.
You may have a spouse and think to yourself that they have not earned your respect. You may hold a grudge against your boss for the way he has harshly treated you. You may look down on the homeless guy holding the sign on the street corner and think to yourself, “why doesn’t he stop drinking and get a job?”
There are people who are hard to honor. Nevertheless, Christ has called us to honor them. We don’t honor them because they deserve our honor. We honor them because we never deserved Christ to honor us. We held a tremendous debt we could never pay, but the debt is canceled. Whatever debt we feel another person may hold, it can be forgiven because our debt has been forgiven.
Questions for Reflection
- What does honor mean to you?
- Make a list of people you overlook because of an unconscious belief that they are below you.
- How does Jesus help you honor others who are not worthy of your honor?
- Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Gary Kessler says
It is difficult to honor someone who doesn’t think like me. Maybe they have different political views. Maybe their sense of morality is different than mine. Maybe they interpret God’s word differently than I do. It is so much easier not to even confront these things.
Janet Baldwin says
Very honest answer. I think we all struggle with this. Lessons like this one helps us to be more mindful
Anna Flake says
I appreciated this today. It has brought to light how I am not showing honor to a specific person in my life. I have been helping grudgingly, when I should be doing it cheerfully as service to God.
I will also search myself to see other areas that I am not giving honor.
Thank you!
Lisa says
Honoring those that you think doesn’t deserve honor takes a willing heart and can be the hardest thing to do because we sometimes can’t forgive.
Janet Baldwin says
I was watching the News and saw the report about the Subway man. I thought a child abuser deserves no mercy. A friend reminded me of the powerful Grace of God. Then I read this lesson that further corrected my harsh opinion. It is not our place to judge. Share the Gospel and let people know God’s Grace is sufficient
Phil Ressler says
You are right Janet. He will give an accounting before God like all of us. He is also held accountable to the laws of the land. Justice will be served whether in this life or the life to come.