Thanks Brad for sharing your thoughts out loud with us.  You reminded me of
the way I regard people sometimes too.  I had difficult people to deal with
in my day today.  If I would have stopped to consider, but all I saw was
their selfishness.  So, I need to take more care to regard people.  Those of
whom I was referring today were different from me in culture and language.
I really should have said, what can I learn from this instead of getting my
bristles up.  Thanks for the good thoughts.  Praying the Lord brings this
Scripture to mind again, just when I need it.



Vicki

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brad D" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2005 3:37 PM
Subject: [ECHURCH-USA] Partiality, not just fiscal


> Some thoughts as I read  this afternoon, or other wise one of my
> bababababababababababablings. Read it for what it is worth, or delete it,
> no matter. I think best when writing cause I have to slow down long enough
> to consider things, and thought to send it.
>
> "My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ
> with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your
> assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also
> comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the
> one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good
> place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by
> my footstool," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become
> judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose
> the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which
> He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man.
> Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do
> they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If,
> however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU
> SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. But if you show
> partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as
> transgressors. --James 2:1-10
>
> I've read this scripture over and over many times and felt reasonably
> confident I had treated folks the same regardless of their fiscal stature.
> In fact, if I felt off sides on this scale it was probably more so
> treating those with money and stature less so than the more common folks
> of which I am a member. Recently I had attended a convention, a meeting of
> fellow blind vendors to be more specific to my point. I was walking down
> the maze of halls to the conference room and saw a man, appeared to me to
> be dressed in a suit, and he was hurriedly looking for the rest room
> before the meeting began. I knew this because I had caught the tail end of
> his question to another in passing. There was really no one else around
> and so I thought it might be a good idea to do business there myself prior
> to the meeting, so I checked out the rooms and etc. and found the rest
> room for the gentleman. I first noted he didn't say "Oh hey thanks". I
> expected something as such and perhaps a "Are you here for the vending
> meeting? Yeah? Oh. Where you from. Hi my name is so and so, glad to meet
> you and glad you could make it". And so forth. Instead he asked "Who are
> you?" I told him and he just disappointedly said "Oh" and quickly dried
> his hands, tossed his dirty used hand towels on the countertop and walked
> out. Later I saw him in the bustle of a large over pass skywalk area which
> also had a bar and an eating facility and tables and etc. I followed and
> watched him as he hollered for his wife like a lost puppy and when someone
> else recognized him; off he went playing the big shot walking and talking
> with no regard to his wife again. Who knows where his wife wound up. This
> man, as I watched him through the meetings, seemed to be only in the
> relationships and acquaintances  for his own benefit and not a genuine
> concern or experience. This to me is a living example of the above
> scripture. I lost respect for him very quickly and therefore need to be
> careful not to regard him in the same  manner as he did me only with
> opposing motivations. This however is a blatant violation of partiality.
> There are other ways it can be done with much more subtlety. I played on a
> worship team at our church in Texas for quite some time. We were getting a
> new leader who was an organ player and loved the keys. First I noticed how
> attention to detail and stresses in the songs we practiced were only aimed
> at organ and piano. There was very little and mostly no direction of how
> he wanted guitar to sound or be accented. However the true partiality came
> through when at one practice time, he must have noticed it himself so felt
> need to make it a point to pat me on the back a bit, and proceeded to tell
> me how good the guitar was sounding and so forth. Little did he know that
> someone borrowed the cord to my direct input box and so I wasn't even
> plugged in and coming through the system at that practice. Oh, oh, busted
> lol. I didn't have the heart to tell him. I've always wanted to be one of
> those people who made you feel welcome right off, no matter who you were.
> Ever met one of those people? They stand out so clear. They ask you
> questions as an acquaintance or initial meeting and you can tell just from
> their  tone and attention that they genuinely care and you feel totally at
> home in their company. . My problem is I'm too busy reading the person's
> personality upon meeting them I couldn't tell you their name five minutes
> after leaving their company. That is something I really need to work on,
> and really try to conquer. So point being that  partiality I don't think
> in this scripture is limited to fiscally minded motives but  general
> caring and not letting anything else get in the way of treating that
> person as you would treat yourself or would like to be treated. I am in
> much need to treat others that way, especially when things do not go the
> way I would like in my day. I trust I'm reminded of my selfishness when I
> read this scripture from this point out.
>
> Brad
>