Morning reading James 2:

James 2 is basically saying that if we truly believe in God, it should show in how we live our lives. He talks about the importance of doing good things and how our actions and thoughts reflect our faith. Basically, just saying you believe in God doesn’t cut it if you don’t actually do anything to back it up. It’s not about doing good things to earn salvation, but rather showing that we truly trust in God through our actions.

So, what does this look like in our daily lives? Well, James starts off by telling us to live out God’s Word. He uses the example of looking in a mirror and forgetting what we look like right after. He’s saying that it’s ridiculous to hear God’s Word but not actually do anything about it. In the next chapter, he tackles the issue of favoritism, especially towards rich people. James is like, “Why are you treating the rich folks better than the poor ones? That’s not cool and definitely not in line with our faith in Jesus.”

He tells a story about a rich-looking guy and a poor-looking guy coming to a Christian gathering. He’s like, “Why should the rich dude get VIP treatment while the poor guy gets the short end of the stick?” That might be how things work in the world, but James is adamant that it shouldn’t be like that in the church. He’s saying that instead of hoping to gain favor and protection from the rich, we should trust God to provide and take care of us. After all, it’s the rich people who are often causing trouble for the poor.

In fact, James straight-up says that showing favoritism to the rich is a sin. It goes against the command to love our neighbors as ourselves. Treating the rich better just because they have money is as bad as breaking other moral laws like murder or adultery. We all need God’s mercy, so we should be merciful to everyone.

Then James goes on to say that it’s not enough to just believe in God. He questions the value of a faith that’s all in our heads but doesn’t lead to any good actions. He gives an example of someone who’s in need, and instead of actually helping them, you just say, “Good luck, stay warm, and eat well!” That’s not enough. Our beliefs should impact how we act. Our actions prove whether our beliefs are genuine or not.

James is saying that true faith results in good works, while Paul in other areas of the Bible emphasizes that we can’t earn salvation through our own efforts. They’re actually saying the same thing from different angles. James gives examples from the Old Testament like Abraham and Rahab to show that their faith was proven by their actions.

To sum it up, James is saying that if our faith doesn’t show in how we live and what we do, then it’s pretty much dead. It’s not enough to just say we believe in God; our actions need to back it up.