James 2:1

NIV: My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favouritism.

The Message: My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith.

How often do we look at someone and make a snap judgement based on what they are wearing, how they are behaving, what they are saying? It is so easily done and I know I have to stop myself from doing this time and time again.

You can't tell just be looking at someone what they are going through in life, whether they are rich or poor (although yes, when my daughter and I went in Harrods we were pretty sure that some of the people there were wearing designer clothes and were not just tourists like us!), whether they are having a hard or an easy life. Even if you can tell whether someone is rich and famous, or poor and insignificant, we are told here not to have favourites, not to let the opinion of others affect the way we behave towards people.

Specifically, in the Message, it says we shouldn't let public opinion influence how we live our lives. So we shouldn't let what others think and say influence how we behave. If all our friends are sleeping around and taking drugs, we should not be doing the same. If all out friends are always gossiping and scoffing, making fun of everyone, then we should not be doing the same. If all our friends are criticising some people, not giving them the benefit of the doubt and wanting nothing to do with them, we should not do the same. If public opinion is such that the government is always being criticised, if famous people are being talked about (usually in a negative way), if public opinion favours certain people in favour of others, if some people are looked down upon by the community as a whole (illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, people of a different race or religion and so on), then we should not do the same.

It is easy to want to fit in, to go along with everyone else and not make waves, to be part of the crowd. But Jesus did not ask us to be part of the crowd. He asked us to go and tell the good news to all men, and sometimes, often in fact, that involves making a stand, actually standing up for what we believe in and saying someone or something is not right. It is not easy to go against public opinion, to stand up and say, for instance, that homosexuality is a sin, to say there is only one way to God, to admit you are a Christian. Just look at what happens when the church does that - we are accused of being bigoted, prejudiced. So instead, what has the church done here in the west? It has compromised, it has accepted the pull of political correctness and has allowed gay bishops, is seeking to not make waves, to blend in and give offence to no man.

But if we are Christians, how can we do that and stay true to biblical principals? The two are incompatible as there is only one way to God, Jesus Christ, and some people will take offence at this no matter how we say it.

So I believe that the way to live our lives is as Christ would have us live them, which means not showing favouritism and also not bending over backwards to agree with everyone. Sometimes we have to make a stand, say what we believe no matter how many people disagree with us. But we need to do this in a loving manner, in a way that does not ram our own opinions down everyone else's throat, make fun of their beliefs or criticise their way of life. Not always easy given the way many people feel these days.

We have such a need for grace this day and age, the grace of God in our lives and there is such a need for prayer in this country and many others in the west, where religion, mainly Christianity, is sidelined and marginalised.

So how do you go about showing Christ in your life? Do you end up favouring some people above others because of where they live, how they dress, the job they have? Do you stay quiet when you should speak out, agreeing with whatever is being said, no matter how contrary it is to your own personal beliefs? I know my family keep a really close eye on me and are notorious for watching me slip up and do something I shouldn't, then calling me on it! If you are known to be a Christian, people will watch you to see if you behave the way they perceive a Christian should, and if no one knows you are a Christian, why is that?