Be No Respecter of Persons

Boundary 6: Be No Respecter of Persons (excerpt from Breaking Through Boundaries)

But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. James 2:9 NLT

What is the law he is speaking of here? It is the law to love your neighbor as yourself. All your neighbors.

The more time I spent on the streets, in my workplace, on Facebook and church loving people with the gifts God has given me, I discovered something about myself; I was being selective.

God began to do new work in changing me. He began to challenge me about this issue of being selective. He would ask me, “Why did you pass that one by?” And I would give Him excuses that I knew He would not receive. “Well, that person is older Lord, probably set in their ways.”; Or “That person is always grumpy and I’m sure they will reject my offer to bless them Lord.”; Or “That guy is busy Lord, I’m sure he won’t be thrilled if I interrupt his day.” But God wasn’t having it. He would tell me, “Have you ever met anyone who didn’t need love?”

Have you ever met anyone who didn’t need love?

OUCH! I felt shame and had to really look at myself to realize that in reality, I just felt fear--fear of rejection. But I also saw that I had an issue with being a respecter of persons. I saw some people as more “worthy” of a gift of God’s love and grace than others.

I had to spend time with God just looking at people, letting Him show me His heart about each one. I literally would go sit in a park, go to the mall, sit up town on a bench, sit at church and many other places, and just look at the people, letting God teach me about His love for each and every one of them. He had no favorites. He loved each one equally. From the greatest to the smallest, they all have a heart that needs God. I had to learn to accept people’s differences and find their individuality beautiful and special and not be against someone who doesn’t eat as I eat, or dress as I dress.

We in our self nature judge harshly those who are not just like us as if we are God and the standard of perfection lies in others being like us. If they are not, we judge them as someone we must fix and conform to our image. But the reality is, we all need to conform to the image of Christ. We are all on a journey towards perfection and all deserve honor and love for who we are in this moment of our growth towards that end. As I spent more time watching people, God began to reveal their beauty. Each one was beautiful to me. Each person, unique and special.

I also began to see only their hearts, their humanness. I no longer saw their clothes, their nationality, color of skin, tattoos or piercings, the suit vs. the homeless man’s tattered clothing. I did not see them as male or female, gay or straight, clean or addicted, good or evil, righteous or unrighteous. I just saw a human being who had a heart that needed Jesus’ love and healing.

God taught me that many people wear masks. That what I might initially perceive at first sight is not what is really there, but things are buried behind a facade. He challenged me to deliver what He had placed in my care (the gifts and the gospel wrapped in pure unadulterated love) even to those I felt would absolutely reject it. He told me to trust Him.

This all changed me-------deeply.

It was like the blinders of the world had been taken off and I now could see through truth in love, that each soul needed to know they are loved, valued, have a purpose and that God sees them. That He desires to reveal that He knows them and wishes to save them from all that binds them unto eternal life.

There is no higher class or lower class with Him. God loves us all.

Let me share a story here that will help to bring this home. I had been out on the streets this day doing evangelism. I saw an older gent sitting on the front steps to an apartment building. I looked at him and thought in my mind; ”He’s older...he’s probably set in his ways and not interested in anything I have to say.” I had no idea that God would use this moment to radically transform me. Here is the story as I wrote it in “My Supernatural Life.”

As soon as I introduced myself and told him that I was out praying for people who needed healing, he said loudly, “I’ve been waiting two weeks for you!” I said, “Excuse me? What?” He explained, He didn’t want healing, just to talk to an active faith-filled Christian. “Not one of them pew sitters”, he said. I was a bit shocked by his response.

We had a long and enjoyable conversation together and towards the end, I asked him if I could pray for his restless legs (which he had disclosed to me in our conversation). He wasn’t concerned about getting healed, but allowed me to pray anyway. We took each others hands and I prayed a short prayer of healing and blessing. When I stopped praying, he began. As he was praying for God to send two angels to go out before me wherever I go, I felt power come FROM HIM into ME! I was like WHOOOOA!! I said, “You are a power-filled man of God!” I told him he still had work to do and that is why I felt God was preserving his life so well (he was elderly). We finished our talk (which was quite pleasant and edifying) and went our separate ways. I can’t prove it one way or another--but I wonder if he was an angel….

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Heb.13:2 (NIV)

(end of excerpt)

Look at all that I would have missed out on had I allowed my judgement of him to win me over.

God would teach me as I continued to step out in faith to bless others that many many times, I would not be the only one to give away treasure. There are hidden treasures inside of all people. It is not just in sharing our faith that we need to be no respecter of persons, but in all aspects of life. Love sees only another heart that needs love. You can read God’s thoughts in the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10: 25-37.

It is something that we must become conscious of and put into practice. Are we withholding love? Why? What are your conditions for giving something good to someone else? Do you withhold a smile? Kindness? Good service? Why? To walk fully as a child of God, we are to withhold love from no one.

I heard something recently that gripped my heart. A man was talking to a woman about love. Did she really love greatly? She exclaimed, “Yes!” That she loved her children so much that she would die for her child if need be. And the man said, “But would you die for someone else’s child? What about your enemy's child?”

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Father, you hate wickedness in your children. Withholding love when we have the ability to love is hatred. Help us to become willfully blind when it comes to the outward appearance of a man, but to only see a heart that needs to be loved. Help us to freely give what we are capable of, and to give without reservation, without any expectation of a return. How freeing and liberating it is to no longer judge if a man is worthy, but to live free to simply give to all whom we see. Transform our hearts to resemble Your heart Lord, and fill our hands that we may give it all away to bless another. In Jesus’ name, Amen