James 2:2-9

2When you are meeting together as believers, maybe two men will come to join with you. One of them is wearing beautiful clothes, and he has gold rings on his hands. The other man is poor, and he is wearing old clothes that are dirty.

3You are kind to the man who is wearing beautiful clothes. You say to him, ‘Please sit here in this good place.’ But you say to the poor man, ‘Go and stand over there.’ Or you may say to him, ‘Sit on the floor near my feet.’

4If you do that, you are thinking bad thoughts. You have decided that one person among you is better than another person. You must not do that.

5My Christian friends, listen to me. God has chosen to bless people who are poor in this world. He has helped them to trust him. So really they are rich. God will give to them a place in his kingdom. He has promised to do that for all people who love him.

6But you have not been kind to people who are poor. You have caused them to feel ashamed. Who causes you to have troubles? It is the rich people! They are the people who want the judges to punish you.

7It is the rich people who say bad things against the good name of Jesus Christ. And you are called Christians because you belong to him.

8But the message of God's kingdom is this: ‘Love other people as much as you love yourself.’ That is what the Bible says. If you really do that, you do well.

9But if you are kind to some people and you are not kind to others, then you are doing a bad thing. God's Law shows that you are wrong.