Bible Reading: James 2:3-4
How do you choose your friends? How do you choose whom to date?
Do you look at the person’s outer appearance? The neighborhood that he or she comes from?
The kind of house the person lives in? The kind of car he or she drives or the kind of clothes he or she wears?
James 2:3 & 4 says, “If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here's a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” Choosing a friend or date based on any of those criteria (or any similar criteria) is prejudicial or discriminatory. It is also not biblical.
When Jesus chose his friends and acquaintances, He didn’t pay any attention to what they looked like, what country they were from, how much money they had, or what their background was. Jesus looked at the inside of the people he befriended. Jesus chose people who needed him, not people he could use to promote himself or make himself look good. Jesus chose his friends and acquaintances based not on what they could do for him, but based on what he could do for them.
Why?
Because Jesus is God and God loves people – all people.
How do you choose your friends? Why?
“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20
Prayer: Heavenly Father, bring a new friend into my life to whom I can show your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.