Treating Others Like A People

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“When I get to heaven I will be amazed at three things. First, those who are not there that I thought would be. Second, those who are there that I thought would not be. Third, that I am even there at all.” ~ John Newton

I grew up in the Fundamental Independent Baptist Church of the Deep South. I even went to a Fundamental Independent Baptist School. Every Friday we would have preacher boys come in and have chapel at our little school. These were mostly youth guys at their respective churches who aspired to have their own little fiefdom one day. Every Friday we had to endure Sermonettes from these Christianettes.......usually about the woes of cigarettes.

They were really into soul winning and these boys did not sin. We knew they didn’t sin because they told us they didn’t sin. They would call all the guys drunkards and all the girls whores and it was their great pleasure to inform us that we were all going straight to Hell. I have to say that, even though these guys didn’t sin anymore, they looked suspiciously arrogant to me.  Especially since they all wore a blue suit, white shirt, and red tie.

In Ecclesiastics 7: 20 Solomon opines that “there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” In James 2, the pragmatic James tells us that we should not be respecters of persons. I heard a story about a boy who walked for miles to get to church, passing by churches much closer to his house. When asked why he walked so far, the boy said, “They love a fella over there.” Another boy told his mom about how much he liked his new Sunday School teacher. She asked what made him better than the last teacher. The boy said, “He treats me like I’m a people.”

We may think of these as cute little stories, but would to God that more churches treated visitors like they were "a people." James says when someone visits the church we are not to “hold them up with partiality.” The Greek phrase there, Prosopolepsia, literally means to lay hands on someone’s face. In other words, don’t judge them on superficial, outward appearances. Don't just "lay hold of their face" and judge them on what they look like on the outside. The Message paraphrase puts it like this, "If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, 'Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!' and either ignore the street person or say, 'Better sit here in the back row,' haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?"

Here’s an idea. Instead of judging people, let’s look to Jesus and make Him our standard. When we can measure up to that Man, then we can compare ourselves to other men. 

Try A Little Kindness

I love Aesop’s Fables. When I was a kid, it was my favorite thing to hear during story time. I read this week where scientist have proven one of the fables as true. Huh. Well, I’ve known that for many years. The old boy knew his stuff. And one thing he knew about was Kindness.
Aesop told a fable about the wind and the sun having an argument. Which was stronger, as I recall. The sun made a bet that the one who could make a man take of his coat was the strongest. The wind went first. The sun hid behind a cloud. The wind blew and blew, but the harder and more fierce the wind blew, the tighter the man held on to his coat. Finally, exhausted, (pun intended) the wind gave up. The sun’s turn was next. He came out from behind the clouds and shone on the man. The man quickly took off his coat. Moral of the story? Warmth, friendliness, and a gentle touch are always stronger than force and furry.

So it is with our daily walk. Do you see how these fruits are building. Love leads to joy, which brings peace, allowing for patience and endurance that will manifest itself as kindness. Listen, you’ve got to "try a little kindness." The stuff is addictive!
Remember Glenn Campbell? Back in the 70’s he crooned...

You’ve got to try a little kindness
Yes, try a little kindness,
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness,
You’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people, on the narrow-minded streets
Not bad advise at all!

Junk Mail and Jesus

Jesus said, “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” (Luke 6:31)




A version of the Golden Rule is found in the scriptures of at least seven major world religions and in the ethical teachings of scores of great philosophers throughout history. The one major difference is Jesus puts this statement in to a positive context, rather than negative.


In-other-words, Jesus says treat others how you want them to treat you, whereas other religions place it in the negative, treat others how they have already treated you. Even so, it is considered the simplest statement of ethics ever conceived. Its widespread acceptance speaks of a universal truth—people just want to be treated like people.



The human dimension is fast disappearing from much of humanity. Our existence is now defined as a series of numbers - Social Security, bank account, license plate, driver's license, credit card, church tithing envelope number, etc. We get telemarketing calls from computers. We belong to social networks in order to keep current with friends...a very depersonalized way of staying in touch. We email, facebook, text, twitter, and tweak each other. (OK, maybe I made that last one up.) And, perhaps the greatest insult of all, is that our genetic makeup is being mapped. Once our DNA is mapped, we will lose all individuality. Can you imagine me being cloned?! Woo boy. That’s all we need is a bunch of "mes" running around. All though...a couple of extra "yous" would help with the BIP this Sunday! Nonetheless, all that makes us truly human - spirit, soul, and the image of God - is being replaced by bits and bytes of digital information. We are truly being objectified.



The illustrations may be new, but the tendency to treat people like objects isn't. Even Jesus' disciples were more concerned about using a blind man as a theological case study than they were about his need to be healed (see John 9:2). How do you see people? When you relate to them, is it to meet your needs or theirs? Have you put the Golden Rule into practice this week? Cassatt, Camden, Columbia, and for that matter our country, could use a little more “golden ruling!”



I hate junk mail. (Are preachers allowed to say hate?) Most of it ends up in the round file pretty quick. Last week I had a letter from Bestbuy. Typical junk coupons, I thought. “50% off. On 1 package of chewing gum with a $500 purchase.” But I opened it anyway. It was a ten dollar gift card. Not a coupon. A gift card! As good as cash. I had to think, do I treat people like I treat junk mail? Do you? Do we cast them away before we know what is on the inside? As you look through your mail box and sort out the unsolicited junk mail, be wary. If all that electronic wizardry makes you feel depersonalized, be very careful and think; you may be treating others the same way.



Food for thought,