• 雅各书 2:1-9

警告偏私

1我的弟兄们，你们信奉我们荣耀的主耶稣基督，就不可按着外貌待人。 2若有一个人戴着金戒指，穿着华丽的衣服，进入你们的会堂，又有一个穷人穿着肮脏的衣服也进去， 3而你们只看重那穿华丽衣服的人，说：“请坐在这里”，又对那穷人说：“你站在那里”，或“坐在我脚凳旁”； 4这岂不是你们偏心待人，用恶意评断人吗？

5我亲爱的弟兄们，请听，上帝岂不是拣选了世上的贫穷人，使他们在信心上富足，并承受他所应许给那些爱他之人的国吗？ 6你们却羞辱贫穷的人。欺压你们，拉你们到公堂去的，不就是这些富有的人吗？ 7毁谤为你们求告时所奉的尊名的，不就是他们吗？

8经上记着：“要爱邻 如己”，你们若切实守这至尊的律法，你们就做得很好。 9但你们若按外貌待人就是犯罪，是被律法定为犯法的。

• 约翰一书 4:10-11

10不是我们爱上帝，而是上帝爱我们，差他的儿子为我们的罪作了赎罪祭；这就是爱。 11亲爱的，既然上帝这样爱我们，我们也要彼此相爱。

• 腓立比书 2:3-4

3凡事不可自私自利，不可贪图虚荣；只要心存谦卑，各人看别人比自己强。 4各人不要单顾自己的事，也要顾别人的事。

你可以用什么具体方式去爱与你不同的人？

圣雄甘地（Mahatma Gandhi）在他的自传中谈到，他在大学期间对耶稣基督的教导深深着迷。在那个年代，印度实行的是种姓制度，也就是说，你出生在哪个社会阶层——是富人也好，是穷人也好——你就得留在那里。这个制度将人区分开来，并将他们困在他们生来的阶级里。但当甘地听到耶稣的教导时，他认为基督教可以解决印度的种姓制度问题。

他来到一个基督教教堂，想听听更多耶稣的教导。但当他走进教堂时，一个招待员说：“你不能在这儿做礼拜。你得去和你的同类做礼拜。”甘地走了出来，从此再也没有去其他基督教会。他认为如果基督教里有种姓制度，那么他就不想成为基督徒。

这个故事的核心是精英主义的罪恶。精英主义是一种高高在上的态度，它抬高一些人，贬低另一些人。这种心态用不合理的标准来判断人。它根据错误的结论和不敬虔的观点来评判人，把一些人视为优越，把另一些人看成低等。它根据种族、阶级或文化，在人与人之间做出不合理的区分。精英主义总是会扼杀基督徒之间的合一，因此我们必须通过爱来除掉它。我们必须爱别人，不管他们的种族、阶级或文化如何。我们必须考虑他们的需要，胜于我们自己的需要。

• 花点时间向神献上感恩与祈求

• James 2:1-9

The Sin of Partiality

1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

• 1 John 4:10-11

10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

• Philippians 2:3-4

3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

What ways can you tangibly love people who are different from you?

In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi speaks about his fascination with the teachings of Jesus Christ while in college. During this time, India was under a caste system. Meaning, whatever social class you were born in, whether rich or poor, you stayed in. The system separated people and locked them into their status. But when he heard the teachings of Jesus, he thought that Christianity could be the answer to India's caste system.

He made his way to a Christian church to hear more about the teachings of Jesus. But when he walked into the church, an usher said, “You can’t worship here. You need to go worship with your own kind.” Gandhi walked out and never attended another Christian church. He figured if there is a caste system within Christianity, then he didn’t want to become a Christian.

At the heart of that story is the sin of elitism. Elitism is an attitude of superiority that lifts some people up while demeaning others. It is a mindset that uses illegitimate criteria by which to judge people. It judges people based on false conclusions and ungodly perspectives, making some superior, while treating others as inferior. It makes illegitimate distinctions among people based on race, class or culture. Elitism will always kill unity within the body of Christ. Instead, we must get rid of elitism through love. We must love others, no matter their race, culture or class, and we must consider their needs as more important than our own.

• Take a moment to give thanks and prayers to God