Face Time
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin James 2:8-9
Show Partiality – James was still a Jew. When he wrote his letter to the first century Christians in Greek, he still used ancient Hebrew expressions. He just converted them into Greek words. Once you see what lies behind the idea of “partiality,” you will be amazed at the wisdom of the ancients. You might even wonder if evolution isn’t backwards. Those who lived closer to the Creator (in temporal span) just might have greater insight than we do. Wouldn’t that make an interesting headline?
The Hebrew idea behind partiality (and the parallel in ancient Greek) is all about the face. To be partial is to show deference to one person over another. In both ancient cultures, this is literally, “to receive the face.” It should remind you of the modern Oriental cultural expressions of “saving face.” It quite literally is about turning your face toward some people but turning your face away from others. In Greek, the expression is prosopolepteo. In Hebrew, it is paniym. When you give or grant “face time” on any basis other than God’s grace, you show partiality.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “Hey, I knew that! What’s the big deal?” The big deal is that in both Hebrew and Greek, the original words are plural, not singular. The word that describes your countenance is not “face,” but “faces” (if we were to translate literally). That causes us to reflect. Why would these ancient cultures view the countenance as a multiple object? Perhaps the answer reveals something deep about being human. Perhaps we are a lot closer to exhibiting masks to the world than we would like to believe (by the way, the Greek word is also the word for “mask”). Perhaps what these ancient societies recognized is that we all portray multiple faces. We pick and choose the one we wish to show depending on the circumstances or the audience. Of course, it could be as simple an explanation as the fact that the face is made up of multiple expressive elements (eyes and mouth). Or it just might be that in a world where I had to read the character of a man with a glance, where I didn’t come with a background check, a resume or a Google search, I learned a very important lesson: every man carries faces.
Now apply this verse. How many different faces do you show to your Christian brothers and sisters? How many masks do you put on in order to hide the dark side of your soul? If your Christian colleagues could peel back all the faces, who would they really find?
Yes, you might skate by this verse if it is only about not showing discrimination. But what if it’s about face time with those inside your circle? What if it’s a sin to wear a mask? Then what will you do?
