Be a Face Lifter
2 minute read
Lame content, but we had another snow day - err, ice day - this week so I’m a little out of whack again and keeping this short.
As it turns out, the first snow day(s) a few weeks ago were fun and exciting, yet this one was less so. Crawford and I tried to make an alternating work schedule for about a half second until I started having PTSD from March 2020 and put the kibosh on that fleeting idea.
Without the comfortable confines of our typical Thursday routine, I felt the tug all morning to be the fun mom, be the working mom, be the nurturing mom, be the disciplinarian mom. In the self-inflicted pressure to essentially be a magician, coffee was poured too freely, and well, with all these Mom Hats that really do not fit well when you try to put them on all at once coupled with wayyy too much caffeine, I’m ashamed to admit all I really became was the scary mom.
Later in the morning we got the news of Russia invading Ukraine, and I burst into tears. Tears for Ukrainians ripped from their families and tears for how I’d behaved that morning – irritated by my very intact family.
Further, there’s a child in our community fighting an incredibly hard fight with cancer, and social media’s pleas for prayer for him and his battle made me weep again. Tears for him, for his family, and tears again at my selfish behavior toward my very healthy, very energetic children.
Perspective changes everything, right?
I’m reading in James 2 right now about showing favoritism and how much it grieves God. James 2:1 says, “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others.”
I did a Bible Study several years ago over the Book of James, and at the time, I circled the word favor and penciled in the note “lifting the face” as a further descriptor.
I love this visual because we all know the feeling of lifting your face to notice someone vs. well… avoiding their gaze.
I’m willing to bet we’ve all been on each side of this at one point or another:
The face lifter
The face avoider
The recipient of the face lift (lol, not the one so-and-so got)
The recipient of the face avoid
We do it in the grocery store. A crowded restaurant. A yoga class. Social events. Conferences. The motive behind why we choose to lift or avoid could be a myriad of reasons (and duh we cannot possibly say hi, how’s your life to every person, everywhere all the time), but when it’s done out of favoritism/lack thereof… it’s viewed so harshly by God’s holy standards it’s grounds for questioning whether you even have Faith in Jesus.
If that doesn't make you pause, I don’t know what will.
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Why is favoritism so offensive to God?
In the context of this passage, it specifically notes the tendency to show favor to the wealthy over the poor. Gulp. You could insert any of the following into the world “wealthy” - powerful, influential, cool, attractive - and if you’re giving a person (or persons) more of your time simply because of their status… check ya self.
Intentionally or otherwise, we’ve all done it. Heck, I’ve even done the reverse and shunned someone falling into one of the above categories out of envy, jealousy, self-righteousness or even self-pity.
All of this is offensive to God because he made us all in His image. When we shun someone or show favoritism to another, we’re basically saying His creation isn’t good enough for us or one person is better than another. We are ALL His children. (Even the non-believers guys). Every single one of us has value, and every single one of us was made on purpose, for a purpose. We are taught quite simply in Leviticus 19:18 and reminded in James 2:8 to “love one another as yourself.”
Are there people who are hard to love? Yes and amen. Are there some people who are not safe to lift your face to out of personal history or the Holy Spirit’s prompting to refrain? Absolutely. Did Jesus have 1 million disciples when He walked the earth or did He have a tight inner circle of 12? Table for 12 plz. Are we going to get along with some people better than others? YES!
I’m not challenging us to meet every barista and patron when we walk into the coffee shop, I’m simply praying for a perspective shift to notice the next time you walk into a room, who are you lifting your face for…?
Father God, as we walk into a new week, I’m praying for the ability to yield to the Holy Spirit as He melds us into becoming unbiased face lifters. As we learn to stop showing favoritism, will you bless our efforts please Lord? You are only good, and you’re the maker of all good things. Your children are your most prized possession and creation, Father! Let us live like it and love others like we believe this to be true. In your holy name I pray, Amen.
Suggested Scripture for the week:
S/M: James 2:1
T: 1 Corinthians 13
W: James 2:8-13
Th: Leviticus 19:17-18
F: Acts 17:24-28
S: Isaiah 43:1-7