First Impressions
How do you judge people?
Do you see the value in everyone, or do you follow some criterion upon which you rely?
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? - James 2:1-4
In today's reading, James warns us against judgments based on wealth. He is talking about showing favoritism toward those who have means, but it can apply to any form of prejudice or preconception.
It really comes down to appearance, doesn't it? If someone looks clean cut and well groomed, we assume he is trustworthy. We might not fear sitting next to him on the subway or in a diner.
I am very conscious of first impressions. I see how people react to each other based on a variety of factors when they encounter each other at the soup kitchen.
We tend to think that all people who have needs can be lumped together under one type, one label, but that isn't really how we see them. Nor is it how they see each other.
I will avoid the obvious examples and focus instead on the young people who volunteer for community service credits working in our pantry. They are all clean cut and well mannered. They come with their moms to sign up and they are very polite.
There is nothing in the way they look or act that would indicate which are well off and which are in need of assistance.
The only indicator of need is how they react to the amount of food we have available from which our clients make their selections.
As they help hand out frozen meats and fish, some react differently than others, as if this is more than just a task to get credit in school. It seems to be more like torture.
It is then that I realize my first impression may be wrong, that this child could be on the other side of the counter.
What it comes down to, I think, is a matter of pride and respect. How we treat each other matters. It matters a lot. If I can have an encounter with someone who can walk away with the feeling that I really and truly care about him or her, then I have treated that person with the kind of respect I would like to receive myself.
We are all responsible for self-respect. How we treat ourselves becomes a reflection of how we are treated by others, and vice-versa. So, when I offer the same seat to one who appears to have nothing as I do to one who appears to be rich, I treat them both with dignity and respect.
There is a lesson here. It is one learned in the story Jesus told of the widow who offered all she had in the Temple poor box.
When someone comes to volunteer, I never assume he or she has the means to donate more than time. I spend no more time with the one who has than with the one who does not.
It is not respectful of either to do that.
All who come to our table or to our pantry have a need to be there. All deserve to be treated like honored guests at God's table. It is the only way to show that we love one another and that we are all neighbors.
James knew that in our hearts we play favorites and we have first impressions that taint our interactions. His reminder is a simple one. Be true to your neighbor; love him as you love yourself.
Maybe we should love him more than we love ourselves. By loving others, we can love ourselves more.
More to come...