Meditations

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:8-13

“Favoritism easily becomes corruption. A favor may be given in exchange for a bribe of money or some other commodity. In this case, favoritism is not just a speck in someone’s eye, but a plank (see Matt 7:3-5). There are also more subtle forms Of favoritism. For example, the line between favoritism and honor is not always clear. We owe honor and respect to those whose positions merit it (Rom. 13:7). Thus it is right for us in Africa to show respect for the elderly (1 Tim. 5:1-2). There is no favoritism when people are given what they are entitled to.

But it can be difficult to tell where this justified respect moves over into favoritism. It is all too easy to show favoritism under the pretense that one is merely honoring someone. In the African context, respect for the elderly and for authority may easily lead to this type of favoritism, and the person receiving the favors may enjoy them and see nothing wrong with accepting them.

However, those who are in positions of honor and authority need to be aware of the danger that the treatment they are receiving is actually unmerited favoritism. The fight against favoritism is a major challenge for Christians who are in positions where it is always present. They should make a special effort to live as Christians, in a way that is different from those around them, because they are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13-16). But what can be done if the salt has lost its saltiness?”

Soro Soungalo (Côte d’Ivoire) in “Favoritism” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

I really appreciated this lesson in advance of my trip to Africa. I depart later this morning.

As I am coming from abroad, my African brothers and sisters may desire to honor me. Often they will say to me that they want to give me a gift. To address this, I say to them, don’t spend any of God’s money on anything for me.

Instead I ask for a license plate from a junked car to add to my prayer wall at home (pictured above).

In this photo you see plates from Africa, Asia, and Oceania. I have two more walls of plates too. One has all the plates of the USA and the other features Europe, Eurasia, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Why give this example? In positions of leadership we can take advantage of that position.

Let’s not do that by taking proactive steps to encourage resource to go to “mission and memories” rather than “perks and privileges.”

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? James 2:1-7

“We all regularly encounter favoritism. Sometimes we suffer because of it; sometimes we benefit from it. But it is only when we are the victims that we condemn it. It is easy to benefit from favoritism without even being aware of it. Favoritism manifests itself in various ways. For example someone may be given something they do not deserve simply because they are relatives of or come from the same village or the same ethnic group as the giver. Such nepotism is frequent in Africa. Unfortunately, it is also evident in the church, where people are sometimes given positions because they are recommended by an authority figure, a political official or even the leader of a denomination.

Favoritism is also happens when people cheat and receive something at someone else’s expense. For example, some patients get priority care in public hospitals because they are related to or know the doctor, while others who were there earlier must wait. This is favoritism because it is discrimination. The treatment that is being given to them is being withheld from those who are not associated with a prominent person, or who are simply poor. But everyone should be treated equally. James denounces discriminatiOn and reminds us that God makes no distinction between people but treats us all in the same way.”

Soro Soungalo (Côte d’Ivoire) in “Favoritism” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Happy Black Friday. We love to get poinsettias at Home Depot for $1 and give them to friends throughout the month to bring beauty and joy to their lives. It’s a deal anyone can get. We also do some Christmas shopping. We like the good deals we can get which help us make our budget go further.

But if we got a deal that others cannot access, we participate in favoritism. A good rule of thumb for everyday practice is to give and receive gifts with others but not give or receive anything if it will others feel slighted, taken advantage of, or overlooked.

I am packing for Africa today. At GTP we aim to serve underserved countries and regions. We will convene workers from across Francophone in Cameroon and from across English, Portuguese, and Spanish speaking Africa in Uganda. The goal is to train them to replicate trainings in their countries across the region.

I encourage you to include Africa in your giving this Christmas by making a gift to GTP today. Click here to give and you will help fuel this important work of training stewards to help churches and ministries strengthen accountability and grow generosity in remote and forgotten places.

Don’t just give to the things you care about this year-end. That’s favoritism. Give to the things God cares about too. Add some underserved stewards to your giving radar.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 4:13-18

“God may test, but he never tempts. There is no way in which God can be the source of evil or of our misfortunes. On the contrary, He is the source of every good and perfect gift. He is faithful and does not change, and so He can be trusted to accomplish His plan for our good.

Temptations come when we entertain evil desires. These desires lead us to commit sin, that is, acts that dishonor God and lead to death. We need to seek out and destroy the seeds of envy and lust and create a healthy environment in which the various kinds of evil desires cannot thrive.

Some may doubt the faithfulness of God in moments of testing and trial, so James reminds them that God has chosen to give us birth through the word of truth, which means that He has made us His children so that we may be σ kind of first fruits of σll He created. We will be the peak of His creation, as we were in the time before the fall! What a privilege!”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Happy Thanksgiving.

Pause to give thanks for every good and perfect gift from God. And should you find yourself in a time of testing, give thanks all the more as God uses such times to shapes and grow you.

Are you tempted? Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Otherwise God will let you have what you lust after you, and it may lead to your own self-destruction. Giving can free you from that.

Cut off all money, time, energy, and attention to whatever tempts you. Nurture, grow, and strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ through giving. Why? Your heart always follows where you give God’s money.

And take time today to give thanks for the gifts of God but do not stop there. Give thanks for God. He’s the greatest gift. Enjoy Him as the first fruits of creation like Adam and Eve enjoyed Him in the Garden of Eden.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving.

Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. James 1:9-11

“The first everyday situation to which James speaks is that of concern about social status. Some of those to whom he writes are in humble circumstances; that is, they are poor, with low social status, and may be tempted to envy the rich. James reminds these poor believers that their real value is not based on what they have. God has accepted them into his family, and so they occupy a high position.

They need to remember that those whom the world sees as great are not necessarily great in God’s eyes. In fact, riches can be a temptation for Christians because it is easy to trust in them for security rather than in God. Those who are rich and belong to the upper class of soci- ety would be wise to be prepared for a fall and a drop in status.

The fall of rich people is very common in Africa. James describes the life of a rich person as being like σ wild flower that blossoms for a while and then fades for ever. The rich will die, just like the poor. When the author speaks of the raising of the poor and the bringing down of the rich, he is not endorsing a struggle for a classless society. He does not condemn the rich because they are rich. He simply wants to make it clear that life cannot be based on riches. In the long run, the rich have no advantage over the poor.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Ponder what our African brother teaches us today. In expounded on these three powerful verses from chapter one of James, we learn that “the rich have no advantage over the poor.”

I might push it one step further. I think the rich have a greater disadvantage because of the human tendency to misplace our trust in riches rather than place our trust in God.

Thank you God for James and how his epistle teaches us the right perspective in a week when our focus is thanksgiving. The more we have, the more self-reliant we become.  Proverbs tells us we forget about God and even disown him altogether.

Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. Proverbs 30:7-9

Father in heaven, teach us by your Holy Spirit to place our trust in you rather than riches in the short time we live on this earth. Keep falsehood and lies from us and give us neither poverty nor riches, but only our daily bread. When we abound teach us to share generously. When we find ourselves in need, help us wait on you. Hear my prayer in Jesus name. Amen.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

“Each time James tackles a new subject, he begins with the expression my brothers or my deσr brothers. The first subject he deals with is the problem of temptation and trials. But he does not answer the question of how to resist temptations or how to endure trials. Rather, he simply affirms that resisting temptations and enduring trials is a requirement for faith and results in spiritual growth. It will make us mature and complete, he says. This explanation helps us to understand why we must rejoice when we pass through trials.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

In my personal study I am reading James this week. In my professional work, I am preparing to serve for two weeks in Africa. So why not spend time reading James with the Africa Bible Commentary.

Solomon teaches us how to read James. Look for the signpost “my brothers or my deσr brothers” or as the NIV renders it “my brothers and sisters” as you read. When you hear that, stop and pay attention.

In love, the half-brother of Jesus wants you to know something really important. Today we learn that trials are a gift. They help make us mature and complete.

Going through a trial? Ask God to help you make the most of it and to learn from it. Know someone going through a trial? Draw near to them. Mostly, keep your mouth shut or ask questions, show empathy, and plant a seed of truth like this one.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers Him from them all. Psalm 34:17-19

Father in heaven, in this season of thanksgiving, thanks for all the good gifts you give us, including trials, which help make us mature and complete, lacking in nothing. Hear our gratitude in the name of Jesus. Amen.

If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? 1 Timothy 3:5

“And if any one know not how to rule his own house. This argument, drawn from the less to the greater, is in itself manifest, that he who is unfit for governing a family will be altogether unable to govern a people. Besides that it is evident that he is destitute of the virtues necessary for that purpose, what authority will he have over the people, seeing that his own house makes him contemptible?”

John Calvin in Commentary on Timothy, Titus, Philemon (CCEL) 62.

Why teach stewardship in churches? Calvin puts his finger on the answer. We do it so people are not destitute of the virtues needed to steward their own home or God’s house.

I have returned safely home from attending ETS and SBL though the conference does not end until Tuesday.

I returned home to wrap up the seven GTP on demand courses that welcomed 841 registrants from 40 countries. One of those courses is called Faith and Finances.

A few years ago, a group of seminaries commissioned me to create the course to address the very issue Calvin speaks about.

If you want to learn more, take the course for free in January 2026. Or encourage anyone you know to take it because to learn to manage the resources of God’s house, we must first put our own house in order.

Registration opens in December 2025 at gtp.org/courses.

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18

“To do good He adds another remedy to the former, for correcting the sinful dispositions of rich men, by stating authoritatively what is the lawful use of riches; for the richer any man is, the more abundant are his means of doing good to others; and because we are always more tardy than we ought to be in giving to the poor, he employs many words in
commendation of that virtue.”

John Calvin in Commentary on Timothy, Titus, Philemon (CCEL) 139.

Why command the rich with four infinitives: to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous, and to be willing to share? There’s a simple explanation. The global statistics show that the more wealthy people become, the less generous by percentage, they become. It’s the opposite of the New Testament command to give proportionately.

Whether you look at Giving USA or other global giving data, the numbers don’t lie. We may tell ourselves we are doing good, but we are not doing good to our capacity. Let me remind you of the implications. We miss out on bringing the kingdom to our context. God does not force us to live according to His economy. He invites us to.

As I ponder my interaction with scholars on financial matters over this past week, I gain courage to echo the biblical commands. I must do this not because I am trying to rob anyone but to help them. The word “tardy” makes me think of grade school. The teacher would use the term to describe a student late for class. The students missed important stuff because they were tardy.

Don’t miss out on participating in the expansion of God’s kingdom right where you are. Put to work all your are and all you have and see what happens.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

“Statements of this nature occur everywhere in heathen writers; and, therefore, it is improper that those persons who would applaud Horace or Ovid, when speaking in that manner, should complain of Paul as having used extravagant language. I wish it were not proved by daily experience, that this is a plain description of facts as they really are. But let us remember that the same crimes which spring from avarice, may also arise, as they undoubtedly do arise, either from ambition, or from envy, or from other sinful dispositions…The most aggravated of all evils springs from avarice — revolting from the faith; for they who are diseased with this disease are found to degenerate gradually, till they entirely renounce the faith. Hence those sorrows, which he mentions; by which term I understand frightful torments of conscience, which are wont to befall men past all hope; though God has other methods of trying covetous men, by making them their own tormentors.”

John Calvin in Commentary on Timothy, Titus, Philemon (CCEL) 128.

Yesterday I conveyed the passion of this biblical passage and asked: Are you insane? Today perhaps the question would shift to this one: Are you killing yourself?

If someone drank too much alcohol or took drugs, we might ask them: Are you killing yourself?

That question carries the weight of this text. To pierce yourself with many griefs implies dying a self-inflicted death of a thousand cuts. You are sick or diseased and your malady is leading to your own destruction..

Like Paul, Horace, or Ovid, I am employing extravagant language to get your attention.

In my conversations with thoughtful biblical scholars this week, it seems that a cultural mindset (which is eager for money) rather than a Christian one prevails in the thinking and living of most Christians related to money.

Consider all the kinds of evil that spreads from that.

A lack of generosity would represent but one negative outcome. Slavery to debt might be another. Or call it a misplaced trust in that which sustains life. It is certainly not a stockpile of money. The list goes on.

No wonder the church, at least in America, seems to be shrinking and losing its saltiness.

We cannot blame the parishioners. We must ask pastors to model obedience. We cannot fault ministry workers. We must charge their managers to live different from the word.

Avarice swaps our security for insecurity and our peace with perpetually feeling we never have enough.

I am struggling to increase the font size. Hang with me as I work on updating my website in the next few months. I cannot seem to get the content of the post to go through in a larger size. If you are an expert at WordPress and can help me, please reply.

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:9

“They who wish to be rich. After having exhorted him to be content, and to despise riches, he now explains how dangerous is the desire of having them, and especially in the ministers of the Church, of whom he expressly speaks in this passage. Now the cause of the evils, which the Apostle here enumerates, is not riches, but an eager desire of them, even though the person should be poor. And here Paul shows not only what generally happens, but what must always happen; for every man that has resolved to become rich gives himself up as a captive to the devil. Most true is that saying of the heathen poet, — “He who is desirous of becoming rich is also desirous of acquiring riches soon.” Hence it follows, that all who are violently desirous of acquiring wealth rush headlong. Hence also those foolish, or rather, mad desires, which at length plunge them into perdition. This is, indeed, a universal evil; but in the pastors of the Church, it is more easily seen; for they are so maddened by avarice, that they stick at nothing, however foolish, whenever the glitter of gold or silver dazzles their eyes.”

John Calvin in Commentary on Timothy, Titus, Philemon (CCEL) 127.

When my wife and I made the decision to store up our treasures in heaven rather than on earth over 16 years ago, some unnamed people said to me: Are you insane?

Today, some 16 years later, after posting Daily Meditations over the same timeframe, I echo the sentiment of Calvin and say that anyone who desires to be rich financially in this life: Are you insane?

I am not saying it is wrong to have wealth because the more we give, the more God seems to lavish spiritual and financial resources for us to steward. I am urging you not to desire the wrong thing.

You cannot serve God and Mammon. Desire the former, not the latter. Handle it with biblical integrity and watch Him lavish on you according to His good pleasure.

Make God your chief desire. Seek Him first and all the other stuff falls into place. Choose any other course and I say one more time for emphasis: Are you insane?

Want to read my scholarly paper “Wealth and Worship in Ancient Ephesus” delivered as part of the Greco Roman Bacgrounds panel on at the ETS 2025 Conference. Click here to download. It was well received yesterday.

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:7-8

“For we brought nothing into the world. He adds this for the purpose of setting a limit to the sufficiency. Our covetousness is an insatiable gulf, if it be not restrained; and the best bridle is, when we desire nothing more than the necessity of this life demands; for the reason why we transgress the bounds, is, that our anxiety extends to a thousand lives which we falsely imagine. Nothing is more common, and indeed nothing is more generally acknowledged, than this statement of Paul; but as soon as all have acknowledged it, (as we see every day with our eyes,) every man swallows up with his wishes his vast possessions, in the same manner as if he had a belly able to contain half of the world.

And this is what is said, that, “although the folly of the fathers appears in hoping that they will dwell here forever, nevertheless their posterity approve of their way” (Psalm 49:13). In order, therefore, that we may be satisfied with a sufficiency, let us learn to have our heart so regulated, as to desire nothing but what is necessary for supporting life. Having food and raiment. When he mentions food and raiment, he excludes luxuries and overflowing abundance; for nature is content with a little and all that goes beyond the natural use is superfluous. Not that to use them more largely ought to be condemned on its own account but lusting after them is always sinful.”

John Calvin in Commentary on Timothy, Titus, Philemon (CCEL) 127.

Craig Blomberg crushed it last night speaking on the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16 (pictured speaking above to 3,000 people at the Annual ETS Conference. His remarks celebrated God’s grace, generosity, and so much more.

As I continue reading Calvin on 1 Timothy, I must say that have read dozens of commentators on this text but few more eloquent.

Think about it: The reason God wants us to find contentment in basic necessities and set a limit to sufficiency relates to the fact that our covetousness is an insatiable gulf.

He wants us to find contentment in Him, the only One that satisfies, rather than seek it in superfluous things that cannot ever bring us the satisfaction they promise.

Let’s test ourselves. Think about all you have. Is there anything you think you could not do without it? Name it. Put the best bridle on it. Now surrender that thing to God immediately.

Naked each of us came and naked we will depart. And it could happen any day. The Surrender Novena, repeated daily, puts everything in perspective. Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.

When we surrender, we acknowledge that He is all we need. We give thanks for food and clothing. And we live simply to give generously. Whatever else we think you need. My best advice: Let it go. Let it go.