If it had been a plain grayish moth I would have merely crushed it for being inside my house, but this was a beautiful Monarch butterfly and ever so carefully I cupped it in my hands to take it outside. As I watched it drunkenly reel around the patio into the blooming Jewelweed I realized my action was so like how we treat our fellow humans. If someone is beautiful they get special treatment. The pretty are given the finer seats. If a plain someone enters we barely notice.
Even Jesus’ brother James writes of our behavior. He said, “For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,’ or, ‘Sit here at my footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”
In the vast majority of presidential elections the taller man wins. There is no doubt there are many social advantages to being taller or prettier. I have noted through the years there are many people I do not want to stand beside. The comparison finds me wanting. But I am encouraged by Peter’s speech in Acts 10:34. He declares that God is no respecter of persons. This doesn’t mean He doesn’t respect us. Quite to the contrary, Peter is saying God loves and treats all of us the same. There are no persons or groups that are more special than others. Sorry about that. Most of us think God loves our group more than another. I’m afraid not. Actually that is really good news.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 17, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574