Respect Of Persons

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”  Acts 10:34-35

            The scripture says that God is no respecter of persons.  Which means he does not show bias or partial regard. God sees this whole world through the lens of perfect justice and righteousness.  There are no major and minor characters, only God, His Christ, and the blessed Holy Ghost; the rest of us are just supporting cast. 

Every day we walk out into a world filled with labels, titles, and classes that separate us from one another.  You are in the club or you’re not.  You are in the lower-class, middle-class or the upper-class.  You are black, white, or brown.  First class or coach.  Upper management, middle management.  Democrat or Republican, Southerner or Northern.  This in and of itself would not be a major cause for concern but for the fact with it we assign value to the label, and by extension the person who wears.  In this we have created respect of persons, and by extension barrier or pedestals for every individual.  We have done it.  All of us.  In so doing the conversation now becomes more about the label or title than the person.  Now, you are no long a person, you are a “white person,” or a “black person.”  Then, black people are dying, and white cops are killing.  White cops are not killing, people are killing.  Black people are not dying, people are dying.  Democrats are not causing people too loot, people are looting.  We have assigned a value, good or bad, to the labels and focused the justice on the persons under that label.  When in reality, it’s the individual that is paramount.  More importantly, the heart of the individual.  God is no respecter of persons.  Sin is sin.  Truth is truth.  Righteousness is righteousness.  If you have murdered, you’re a murderer, if you have lied, you’re a liar; if you have stolen something, you are a thief.  Wealth, status, race, employment plays no part in it.  Sin is sin, no matter who commits it, and righteousness is righteousness no matter who lives it.  God accepts all who fear him and work righteousness, and he rejects all who disobey and do iniquity; from the drunk in the ditch to the President in Washington.  James tells us if you have respect of persons you commit sin.  That means when we show bias to one person or regard one person above the other, we are sinners in the sight of God.  The early Christians lived in a time of gross social injustice.  They lived in a day of masters and slaves.  Jews and Gentiles, Romans and, well, everybody else.  It was not their ambition to correct the injustice through social justice or government mandate.  They did not concern themselves with overthrowing the governments of man, but they focused on destroying the sin that govern the human heart.  Again, it is the individual liberty of the human heart that is paramount.  God the Holy Spirit revealed unto them that sin was the real issue, and if you purge that and replace it with perfect love it will cure the injustice that plagues the world.  A slave could easily serve a master that loved him like his own son, and a master would adore a slave that worked for him like it was his own land.  Sin is the real issue, guarded further by respect of persons.  Shame on us Christians if we water down the gospel in the presence of rich men, because we desire favor, and if we pinch pennies for our own vacations because we “fear” the poor.  A world that majors on position and status is a world that we are strangers in, and we should act like it.  Position, title, status, race, age, gender, country of origin; it all means nothing to Him, and it should mean nothing to us (God help me).  As the support cast, we have a role to play.  Our involvement in the story of life is to lift up Jesus Christ.  Lord help us to leave our own agenda at the feet of Jesus along with our wretched sins.

            Christ was exalted and given a name which is above every name.  He was the Son that left heaven and became the Savior of the world.  The risen Savior had every right and ability to conquer this world and reign as a King, but he didn’t do that.  He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” If the Son of God became a mortal man, and a servant to all: how much more should we?