"Suppose someone comes into your meeting with his fingers laden with gold rings and wearing fine clothes ...."
Of course, James is much more concerned that we take his teaching about partiality seriously than argue about how to translate this or that word in the text. The sin of partiality so easily raises its ugly head today, even in Christian circles. We are so easily enamored with fame, with celebrity, with power, with wealth, with beauty. I recall attending one of my first Society of Biblical Literature meetings when I was just a fledgling teacher. As I walked through the convention hall, I caught a glimpse of one of my heroes, a man who was one of the most well-known New Testament scholars of that day. Somehow I mustered up the courage to go up to him and introduce myself. As we chatted, all of a sudden I was looking at the back of his head. One of his scholarly peers had just walked up to him, so he turned and began speaking with his friend while yours truly was immediately forgotten. I've never forgotten that experience. I promised myself that I would never be guilt of doing that with the people I met and spoke with, but I'm sure it's happened. If I ever treated you like that, I am so sorry. Please forgive me. Surely life is bigger than one's status or degrees. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could rid ourselves of the sin of partiality?
This isn't a particularly cosmic thought, I know. But this morning I experienced a small reminder that treating others impartially makes a difference. By refusing to show partiality, we demonstrate our love for others in very plain, ordinary ways. But that's what being a Christian is all about. It's about taking the time and making the effort to make others believe and feel that they are valued and important. And at the end of your life you can say you've lived well if you've been kind and generous with those "little, nameless, unremembered people" (Wordsworth).