Favouritism is forbidden. The reason is that Jesus does not show favouritism. James then uses the very practical example of a finely dressed man and a poor man dressed in rags.It is wrong to treat one as more important than the other. If we do this we have become judges with evil thoughts. We have made the judgement that the rich man is a better person than the poor man. This test surely poses serious questions to most of us, and calls on us to examine our own attitudes.
In the Old Testament God shows concern for the poor.Moreover, Jesus said blessed are the poor for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Now in Matthew this refers to the poor in spirit, in Luke it is just the poor. We must not dishonour the poor.
Moreover, to show preference to the rich is illogical. It is the rich who were exploiting the church. Apparently they were being dragged through the courts in James' time. The fact of the matter is that the poor are more likely to come to Christ than the rich, for they are less likely to be blinded by the deceptions of wealth.
We need to remember that we will be called to give an account to God, not to some human judge. So we need to act and live in the light of this.
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