Title In Christ (James 02:1-5)
Content James often refers to his readers as "my brethren."
In the text, he asserts that there is virtually no "rich or poor" in Christ. Thus, he urges that there be no partiality or discrimination in the congregation (literally, "synagogue"), which favors the rich and despises the poor. The christological title "Lord of Glory" (1:1) may imply a tacit rebuke for the self-proclaimed glory of the rich. In any case, the members of the congregation should neither pay tribute to the rich (to give them a "good place"), to despise the poor (to stand or to order them to sit on the bad place, i.e., a "footstool"). that it won't
James himself insists that discriminating against the poor is a violation of the "supreme law," the law of love. The reason for this is that this discrimination is because they cannot pass the test, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (2:8-9). I'm not sure, but this suggests that James probably knew that the churches to which he was writing were more of the wealthy than the "poor men in filthy clothes," if not wealthy. I think it was However, everyone
has equal value. That is why it is against the law of love to shame or despise the poor (2:6 a).
In ancient times, it was the church that first broke social and class discrimination. It was truly revolutionary for a master to receive the sacrament at the hands of his slave. No wonder James was so passionately opposed to his partiality. We tend to forget easily, but James knew, first of all, that partialism is destructive. It creates a separate loyalty to God and Mammon, and destroys "faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" in the way it manifests itself. It destroys human relationships by allowing double standards. It destroys man itself in that it nullifies the “law of love” by directly opposing God's mercy and saving purposes.
Among the appeals of James, there are many satires of jokers. How rare it is to pay special tribute to the rich who oppress the poor! This simply looks like a self-righteous pervert. However, it is more than that. It is even more strange that the followers of the Lord Jesus, who had nowhere to lay their heads, crouch over golden rings and beautiful garments. When the arrows of satire begin to pierce our affluent mental state,