A woman named Wednesday was out walking when she saw a well-dressed woman coming toward her. The woman drifted in her path, pushing Wednesday to the edge of the sidewalk. As she brushed by, Wednesday noticed she was carrying a $60,000 Birkin handbag. She realized if she was going to be accepted in New York’s prestigious Upper East Side, she would have to get one.
Wednesday knows it’s crazy. No purse is worth thousands of dollars or the groveling required to purchase it. You can’t simply walk into a Hermes store and get a Birkin. You have to keep coming back, and even beg before Hermes will let you into the Birkin club.
Aren’t you glad Jesus frees us from such pursuits? We don’t need to pay exorbitant fees to impress people. Our status is already sealed. We matter because we belong to God.
The Corinthians forgot this fact and fought over their perceived status. Some bragged they belonged to the “brand” of Peter. Others wore their allegiance to Paul or Apollos on their sleeve (1 Corinthians 1:11-12). The church was also divided by class. When they met for dinner and the Lord’s Supper, the wealthy would “hurry to eat [their] own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some [went] hungry while others [got] drunk” (1 Corinthians 11:20-21).
Paul said such divisions “disgrace God’s church and shame the poor.” It’s the reason why many of them were weak and sick and some even died. The Lord’s Table should bring us together, not drive us apart. So “wait for each other” (1 Corinthians 11:22,30,33).
Our status doesn’t depend on what brands we wear, but it does depend on the One who loves us. Jesus invites us to His Supper. As we gather around His table, we sit beside equals in the family of God.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: John 6:22-40
More:
Read James 2:1-9 and consider why it’s important not to value others based on their status.
Next:
How does your identity in Christ free you from the need to impress others? Why is it important to see others through God’s eyes?
Gary Shultz on July 18, 2017 at 5:36 am
Hi Mike: If we identify with Christ, He certainly is the greater. If we have our hope in Christ, He will be the satisfaction of that hope. Understanding our future in Christ, little matters when it comes to a status that has fickle instability. If you have Christ, you have reached into the treasures heaven to have the power of it here. The word itself says that the physical appearance of Christ was not impressive. But, what was on the inside, is still beyond our imagination. Christ saw and accepted the hurting, the rejected, seeing the rich and poor from the condition of the heart. Since we can’t completely look into the heart, we certain should be dismissing the outward appearance, but we don’t, do we? We have that eyeballing system of judgement. I don’t know about you Mike, but I can’t seem to get it right without voice of the Spirit. I don’t get it right at first glance, I have to deffer to WWJT (what would Jesus think.) to stay on base. Thanks Mike
jjw2855 on July 18, 2017 at 7:35 am
That is true. Well said brother. ☺
jjw2855 on July 18, 2017 at 7:29 am
Hi Mike, when I first looked at the picture of the shop, I thought it was one of those opportunity shops run by some charity. Oops! My humble apologies to all those New York’s prestigious Upper East Side dwellers. Even the window displays looked like one of those opportunity shop (or second hand clothes shop) in the suburb I live in. And the art work on the window display looks like the art work of my autistic son. Well, the name ‘Hermes’ didn’t ring a bell. I thought some Greek person was running a charity shop.
Wonder, what God thinks of such $60 000 Birkin handbags? Spending so much on a handbag is senseless especially when there are so many starving and suffering around us. Son of God, when he was crucified, they took His clothes and left Him with just the under garments (John 19: 23-24). My Saviour had no place to lay His head to rest (Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58). ‘Hands that flung stars into space, to cruel nails surrendered…’ (Graham Kendrick).
So, as for such rich opulence of this world, I think I agree with Franny Crosby, “Take the world, but give me Jesus, All its joys are but a name; But His love abideth ever, through eternal years the same…”
Mike Wittmer on July 18, 2017 at 8:20 am
jjw2855: I agree that the world’s price seems to go up as the quality goes down. The most expensive art is often something I think I can do, which is never a good sign! It is impossible to find better value than Jesus!
i trust jesus on July 18, 2017 at 8:00 am
So will any of us (believers) stop by the park and sit down by a homeless person and offer our help this week?
Mike Wittmer on July 18, 2017 at 8:15 am
That is a provocative question! I know that to truly help will require a long term commitment/relationship, and that part of our helping will require our willingness to let them help us. I have a friend who befriended a homeless person and was giving him a ride. They had built a relationship, and the man told my friend he wanted to pay for the ride. My friend said, “No way, you can’t afford it,” but then realized that it was important to the man’s dignity to pay his way. So with tears in his eyes he accepted his ten dollars. My friend concluded that helping someone may take surprising forms, and it’s harder than you’d think. But you are absolutely right, sitting beside them is an essential first step!
jjw2855 on July 18, 2017 at 8:40 am
Actually, my husband used to do that few years ago. Every morning when he went jogging, he would take some toasted sandwiches and a flask of hot tea or coffee to a homeless guy who used sleep on a park bench near our house. My husband would sit down and eat with him. My husband would also give him a Gospel tract, tell him about Jesus and pray with him. After a while he disappeared. Don’t know what happened to this person. We are hoping that he found a place at the shelter.
Mike Wittmer on July 18, 2017 at 11:09 am
I like your husband very much! Someday you may learn what difference his kindness made in this man’s life.
godlove on July 18, 2017 at 11:41 am
Maybe the idea of having endless earthly pursuits to try to impress others comes from the indwelling Fallen nature trying to cover up the guilt of sin by showing off external attributes. For all who are in Christ, we know our hope and joy (our Salvation in Christ) comes only by God’s Grace and so no human working or earthly effort, whichever it may be, can make believe to the One whom we submit to. We come to Him just as we are – filthy and worthless, then HE makes us clean and gives us new worthiness. Thanks Mike.
minkjh on July 18, 2017 at 4:11 pm
Well spoken, godlove! It’s not difficult to understand the worldliness of unbelievers, but it’s mind-boggling when those who claim salvation exhibit the same traits and think because they’ve ‘made it’ in the world’s eyes that they’re entitled to flaunt it. That’s not the true gospel and I question what they’ve been saved from.
jenness2014 on July 18, 2017 at 11:49 pm
I struggle with my identity in Christ. Once I was told by a pastor that I was a people pleaser. At first, I brushed it off and then I was offended. Later on I realized that he was right. I am. I’ve always been that way since I was a child. Although I know that I asked Jesus into my heart when I was a child and have been baptized, I still sin and I just now realized that I don’t have an identity in Christ. How is that possible? This actually scares me. Please pray for me and my family