The Christian Poor and the Unbelieving Rich

To discriminate in favor of or against people based on externals such as poverty and wealth shows double-mindedness, an attempt to be a servant of the impartial God while committing sinful partiality. James the Apostle and brother of Jesus has made that clear to us in his teaching on the rich and the poor (James 2:1–4; see also Deut. 10:17). In today’s passage, James continues to teach against favoring the wealthy over the impoverished in the church, giving us several reasons that it is wrong to show partiality based on socioeconomic status.

First, we should not favor the rich over the poor in the church because God has “chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (James 2:5). Showing partiality to the rich is contrary to God’s gracious election of the poor to salvation. But does this mean that the Lord has elected all poor people to eternal life and has consigned every wealthy person to a place outside His kingdom? Certainly not. If being poor guaranteed redemption, the Apostles and prophets would never have counseled us to help alleviate poverty. James also refers to rich Christians in his audience and mentions as examples Abraham and Job, who were both wealthy men (1:9–10; 2:18–23; 5:11). Also, the Greek word for “poor” in James 2:5 is used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) to render Hebrew words that signify humility and meekness. Finally, “poor in the world” can mean “poor in the world’s eyes.” Putting all this together, we see that while James has the materially poor primarily in mind in 2:5, he is speaking not of all those who suffer material impoverishment but of poor believers. Additionally, the verse includes by extension wealthy people who humbly trust in Christ and are seen as poor by the world because their faith makes them fools in the eyes of unbelievers. It has often been true historically that those in material poverty are especially receptive to the gospel, and God has a way of choosing those whom we do not expect, such as the poor, to do great things for the kingdom (see Luke 1:46–56). Still, money in itself is indifferent, and both rich and poor can be faithful Christians.

James says that it is also wrong to favor the rich over the poor in the church because wealthy unbelievers, who had also blasphemed Jesus, had oppressed many in his original audience (James 2:6–7). It makes no sense to favor the oppressor or the blasphemer.