Be No respecter of persons | Love equally

Being no respecter of persons

The scripture states that we should not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory with; respect of person. As believers, we are to love each other showing the same respect one to another. We are not to be partial differing in worldly possession or otherwise. Christians should not display respecter of persons.

It is a sin to treat people differently from others based on their worldly wealth. If we behave this way, the world will not get the opportunity to experience the love of Christ through us. Rather than drawing people to Christ, you push them further away with foolish conduct.

The inspiration for this story-time is in James 2:1-10.

Ron, the man who’s no respecter of persons

It is 4:30 in the early morning; the streets are loud with traffic and bright lights surrounding the city. The alarm buzzes in the dark bedroom with street lights beaming on the window and sending in a radiant glow as a night light. Ron stretches out his arm from under the covers and taps the device sitting on his nightstand for the alarm to stop. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and then sat up on the bed.

Ron took a moment to gather himself and then got off the bed and went on his knees, his elbow leaning on the bed. For the next fifteen minutes, he spends time talking to the Lord in prayer. Then Ron stood up on his feet and grabbed his bible sitting on the nightstand. He sat on his bed and began to read the word of God for another fifteen minutes. After reading his bible, tidy-up his bedroom, Ron put on some worship music and went to the bathroom. He then did his usual morning stretches and exercise; while giving praise and thanksgiving to God. When he finished, he had breakfast, and then he got ready for work. Ron usually leaves his apartment at 6:30 to beat the morning traffic rush and make it to work on time.

Unaware, unexpected news

Finally, Ron made it to work on time. He works at a call center job for Verizon. He does customer service for a living. The job entails him taking note of the customer complaints and helping them to fix the problem. When Ron walks into the workspace, he sees his coworkers conversing with long, unhappy faces. Some of them were even nodding their heads in disbelief. As Ron was about to inquire what was going on, his supervisor called him into his office. There Ron learned that the job is going overseas and, this will be his last week on the job.

At first, Ron was devastated and very angry that the job he gave five years of his life suddenly bailed on him, and no warning. Ron has to find work elsewhere and quickly. Soon he will be out of a job and need money coming in to afford his monthly expenses.

The Lord is no respecter of persons – He will sustain

A couple of months went by, he is still unemployed and having difficulty finding a job in his field. Either none is hiring or, he does not have the requirements that interest the company. Ron has to decide what he’s going to do if the outcome doesn’t work out in his favor. His apartment lease is ending in a month and, he’d have to find a much cheaper place soon. Living in the city is expensive and, this would be a good time to downsize.

Ron is a responsible man and, with that, he was able to live off some savings he allocated in the event a rainy day should come. Fortunately, his retirement savings is left untouched. He downsized to a studio apartment that cost $500 a month; it was a month-to-month agreement, Ron is happy with it. He sold most of his possession and only kept the bare minimum.

Every morning Ron would get on his knees and cry out to God. Ron has committed his heart to God and trusted the Lord despite his circumstances. Since he was unemployed, he had more time on his hand. With the extra time, Ron used it to spend time in the Scriptures and gain a greater understanding of the word of God. He poured out his heart to the Lord without fail as he believes this season is temporary and God Almighty is in control and has not left him.

Spreading the gospel with no respecter of persons

Despite his financial shortcomings, Ron continues to be a cheerful giver. Whenever an opportunity was present, he joyfully shared the gospel of Jesus Christ to strangers such as passengers on the same bus as he. If he had any small change, he’d happily buy a meal for the homeless. Ron’s view on his current state is that he’s not the only one that struggles. People all over go through it but, it’s not a license to be stingy and not care for others.

Since Ron relocated to a location much further from his old place, he’d become disconnected from the church. He is in search of a new church home and thinks he found the one. The church is a few blocks from his apartment, is about a 10-minute walk from his place. Ron decided he’d go to the Sunday morning service; it is a day away.

Signs of respecter of persons

At last! It’s Sunday and, Ron is excited to attend The St Peter Baptist Church, around the block from his place. He walks into the church during worship service, glad he’s not late for the preaching. But minutes before that, a guest arrives in the church for the first time as well. Neither man had a prior affiliation to the church.

John walks in with a big smile on his face and is glad to be present. He is wearing brand-name expensive; clothes. The man is cloth in a black suit, white shirt with gold cufflinks, and red tie. He got on black leather shoes and is visibly wearing a Rolex watch. The scent of his sweet cologne occupied the space. He wore a big visible ring on his index finger. His hair was sleek back and his face nicely shaved.

At the front door, he was welcomed with a warm greeting and handshake by a church greeter and courteously led to the front-row seat.

Walk with no respecter of persons

Then walks in Ron, happy to be in church and ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is wearing secondhand clothes. He is wearing a gray collar shirt and blue jeans. The top button of his shirt is missing and, it’s wrinkled and slightly stained at the neck collar. He got on black and white sneakers, which have wear and tears with some darkened stain. His hair is overgrown but neatly brushed back and, he had an unshaven face.

At the front door, he received a very dismissive welcome, with a forced smile and no handshake from the same church greeter. The church greeter pointed for Ron to sit in the far back row seat. There were lots of available seats up-front.

The church greeter judged Ron by his outward appearance and disregarded him as an individual. They didn’t know that Ron is a Christian and he loves the Lord with all his heart. He happens to fall on hard times, no fault of his. Despite his circumstance, he is still strong in faith and knows that the Lord is with him and has not failed him at all.

The End.

PS: The Lord since blessed Ron, and his outcome is better than his previous state. He is a man strong in faith, and despite his circumstances, the praises of the Lord never ceased from his mouth. Ron is now in full-time ministry serving the Kingdom of God and with his love for people drawing then to Christ.

Thank you for taking time out of your day for story-time. I hope that you receive something good out of this message. I trust that by the grace of God, we share His love for the world to the world without partiality.

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