Introduction
In this post, I want to explore how we can engage in our faith without favoritism by reflecting James 2:1-7. I will discuss the radical message of verse 5 and finally look at the spiritual cost of anticipatory consciousness.
Possibly written around 48 years after Jesus’ death, the book of James emphasizes the importance of living out one’s faith through actions, highlighting themes such as perseverance, ethical living, and care for the less fortunate. James 2:1-7 teaches that believers should not show favoritism, emphasizing that faith in Jesus Christ should lead to treating everyone equally, regardless of their social status. It warns against making distinctions based on wealth, as this contradicts the principle of equality in the Christian community.
Partiality is still a problem that we face in our world today. We often build unnecessary boundaries around our churches, communities and nation, outlining who can belong and who cannot. We create endless and arcane rules and regulations and systematize a God and a philosophical movement that cannot be systematized. To truly follow the religion of Jesus, we just follow James example who calls us to a faith that that resists partiality, upends social expectations, and invites us to examine the barriers we create in anticipation of others.
Faith Without Partiality: The Call of James 2:1-4
John Wesley emphasized that James 2:1-7 warns against favoritism and partiality within the church, reminding believers that all people are made in God’s image and should be treated equally. He highlighted that true faith is demonstrated through actions that reflect care for the vulnerable and a rejection of discrimination based on wealth or appearance.
Considering partiality, we must address how this posture contradicts the core tenets of the Christian faith. When we give preferential options to those who are white, male, have money, power and can give these people more money, we are not living out the Christian tenets of love, justice and equality. We are instead worshiping a religion about Jesus based on empire building and putting our grain in storehouses for our own selfish means.
Our Churches instead can cultivate an environment where are all are truly welcomed by boldly proclaiming the radical inclusiveness observed in Jesus, later in Paul and here in James.
To live into this vision, we must cultivate an attentiveness to the quiet voices and unseen needs within our communities, learning to recognize our own tendencies toward partiality not as failures, but as invitations to deeper transformation.
Verse 5: God’s Radical Reversal—Upending the Script
I was particularly struck by verse 5 in my lectio into this passage. It offers these challenging words: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom?”
This radical reversal, where God elevates those the world might overlook, serves as a powerful corrective to our ingrained assumptions about status and worth. Echoing other similar teachigns by Jesus and Paul, James rather than upholding familiar hierarchies or rewarding those who conform to societal ideals, the divine perspective subverts these standards, inviting us to reevaluate what it means to live faithfully. In our own faith communities, we encounter countless moments where the tables are turned and the seemingly insignificant become leaders, teachers, and bearers of wisdom. I have learned more from my clients and the people I have encountered in my travel, the “least of these” who have been better teachers than my college professors. These stories echo through generations—reminders that God’s ways persistently lift the humble and confound the proud, challenging us to adopt a vision shaped not by external appearances but by the quietly transformative work of grace.
Anticipatory Consciousness: The Hidden Obstacle to Open Faith
Anticipatory consciousness can be explained as expecting and predicting outcomes based on bias or fear. Our sources of information today and forever have been fueled by fear. We do not have live our lives in fear. On July 14, 2025, the Benedictine Joane Chittester wrote in her Vision and Viewpoint email that “when we react out of love, life is full of the impossible and good. When fear controls us, life is lived carefully, watching every step, because, after all, the worst can happen at any moment.”
When we live our lives with anticipatory fear, we gain a spiritual and psychological debt. We accrue feelings of anxiety, self – fulfilling prophecies and closed hearts. In part, these debts have led to our churches losing their relevance and young people walking away. I work with a lot of young people these days and they are by far the most open cohort of people I have worked with in my life. From many of them, I have heard how they do not want to be part of churches and systems that are closed minded and hypocritical. I deal with anxiety every day and I really do not buy into the medical model around it. Anxiety is a symptom of society not being good at being society.
When we make an opinion of a person before we really get to know them, we miss an entire narrative. I have been a therapist for some time now and I can read a person pretty well, and my kids used to think I was judgy, but when they got to the real world, they found out that they were wrong. I am reminded of Jesus and the woman at the well. When I read someone, or in the case of Jesus reading someone, we are not making judgments, we are making observations that can lead to thoughtfully placed questions that can help us get to know a person more deeply. We find out indeed that we are truly sitting in the presence of the potential seat of Christ.
Conclusion
To close, as we look forward, the challenge is not just to avoid overt acts of favoritism, but also to nurture a vigilant humility that notices the subtle ways exclusion can seep into our gatherings and conversations. Openness in faith is less about grand declarations and more about the quiet, persistent practice of seeing Christ’s image in every person we meet—especially those whom society might overlook or undervalue. It is in the gentle work of listening, questioning, and welcoming that we embody the radical hospitality to which James calls us. The path to an open faith is not always easy, but it is marked by the continual rediscovery of grace in the ordinary moments where we choose understanding over assumption, presence over prejudice, and community over isolation. May we be beacons of light to those around us, may we bow to the presence of Christ in all who cross our paths.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In