One observation I have of people is that we are consistently trying to outdo one another.  In elementary school I would hear a classmate tell a story about something they had done and then immediately either myself or one of my classmates would tell a similar story or experience they had.  Often there was a sense that the follow up story was meant to out show the previously told one.  I do not think we outgrow this tendency either. I have witnessed this phenomenon happen in groups of adults as well.

I think it is rooted in a human desire to gain or bolster our sense of value and worth.  This is a great desire of our souls; to feel worthwhile and important.  But as natural as it is, it can also become extremely dangerous when it goes unchecked.

Here is a verse from Scripture that I think checks our pursuit of value: “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1).  James is outlining how in the church we should not treat someone who is wealthy differently than one who is poor.  The reason for that is because, as the Apostle Paul says: “God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:11).

The word translated “partially” comes from a Greek word meaning “respect of persons, partiality, the fault of one who, when responsible to give judgment, has respect to the position, rank, popularity, or circumstances of men, instead of their intrinsic conditions, preferring the rich and powerful to those who are not so.”[i]  It is the process of determining the value of someone based on outer realities rather than internal ones.  The Scripture tells us not to do it.  We should not determine another person’s value based on the story they tell and we should not seek to increase our own value based on a similar story.  

The reason I am focused on this right now is because I think we are struggling with partially as an American culture.  And clear from the fact that James is warning Christians not to do this, the Church is not immune from this temptation or tendency.

The phrase “essential worker” has heightened this for us.  It has elevated certain jobs in our minds.  I am in no way saying that we should not show gratitude to those who work hard among us.  Thanking people is clearly a biblical principle (1 Thessalonians 5:12).  But it is the elevation of people and/or positions over others that causes issues.

Envy for one.  If one group is spoken of as more important and another is not even mentioned, the natural human response is envy.  Envy is never good and normally leads to an argument.  When we are arguing about who should be honored more, NO ONE is honored.  But envy is only the tip of the iceberg.  The issue goes much deeper.

We can begin to move past gratitude for those who serve us, to the worship of those who serve us.  We begin to give individuals or even specific vocational callings not just honor, but ultimate honor.  We determine that they are MOST important. They have become our saviors and therefore must be praised. At all costs we must uphold them.  This is dangerous because it breaks God’s holy commandment; “you shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). And puts undue weight on people who cannot bear this weight. 

The outcome of idolatry is both the destruction of the false god and destruction of the worshipper of said god.  No human being can bear the weight of god-like praise because it will lead to god-like demands: save us! We will crush them with these demands, and we will destroy them when they disappoint us. And those who seek salvation from those who are not gods will find no salvation.  Note that this is often the opposite of what we intend.  We simply want to thank someone for their hard work, but we take it too far.

So how can we do this well, without slipping into idolatry.  Consider these statements from Scripture:

1.  “We thank God always for all of you” (1 Thessalonians 1:2).  We would do well to see people and vocations as gifts from God and to spend our greatest efforts on thanking the Giver more highly than the people and jobs that represent those gifts.  I do not suggest we do not thank them, but we thank God first and foremost for them. 

2.  “Honor everyone” (1 Peter 3:17).  It is important that we listen to what we say.  Rather than saying something like: “grocery store clerks are the heroes of this crisis,” we say “I am grateful for the many people serving us, and am specifically mindful of grocery store clerks.  I thank God for them today!”

3.  “Show no partiality” (James 2:1).  We would do well to find our value in God rather than positions or external situations.  Can I admit that when the PAUSE began I was insulted that Churches were not considered “essential?” But there was an answer to my envy.  It was not to complain about it and build up the argument in my mind as to why pastors are valuable.  It was to see that God has determined my value by having His Son Jesus Christ die in my place.  That is my value today, regardless of what title I have or world value the world puts on it.

And this is true for you as well: “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16).

May God’s word center our minds and hearts on Him because He is of highest value, and may that affect how we see ourselves and others today!

[i] Strong, James. “4382. Προσωποληψία” Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001, pg 216.