Prejudice Is a Sin

Message Summary:

In this convicting message, Chuck Swindoll tackles the ugly reality of prejudice—a word derived from a Latin noun meaning to “prejudge” without knowing all the facts. Turning to James 2:1–13, Swindoll argues that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is completely incompatible with personal favoritism. He warns against the “insidious attitude” that judges people based on initial impressions rather than the content of their character or their standing before God.

Swindoll explores James’s illustration of the “near-sighted usher” who gives a wealthy man a prime seat while telling a poor man to sit at his feet. He explains that while there is nothing inherently wrong with being rich or poor, the sin lies in the motive of making distinctions based on external appearance. Swindoll challenges listeners to examine their own “unspoken rules” of acceptance regarding race, background, appearance, or social status, reminding them that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

The message concludes with a call to follow the “Royal Law” of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Swindoll urges believers to let Scripture be their standard rather than their heritage, to let love be their law, and to let mercy be their message, because “mercy triumphs over judgment”.

Message Key Facts:

• The Definition of Favoritism: Swindoll explains that the Greek word for “favoritism” combines two words meaning “to receive by face.” It refers to accepting or welcoming someone based solely on face value or initial external impressions.
• The Turkey and the Attorney: Swindoll shares a humorous story about a lawyer who sold a fake, paper-mâché turkey to a down-on-his-luck man on a bus, thinking he was doing a kindness (or getting rid of a burden). The story illustrates the impossibility of judging another person’s heart or situation in a first-time encounter [2–6].
• The Case of the Near-Sighted Usher: Swindoll borrows a title from author Guy King to describe the scene in James 2:2–4, where an usher is unable to see beyond a visitor’s clothing. Swindoll notes that God does not “respect faces” but judges the heart.
• The General and the Private: Drawing from his Marine Corps days, Swindoll recounts an Easter service where a bold chaplain seated a private in the general’s reserved seat. This illustrates that in the house of God, there should be no rank or distinction—it is “first come, first served” [17–19].
• Three Reasons Prejudice is Wrong:
  1. Theological: It contradicts God’s method. God often chooses the poor and the “weak things of the world” to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:26–27) [21–22].
  2. Logical: It denies the reality that the rich were often the very ones oppressing the early Christians and blaspheming Christ’s name.
  3. Biblical: It violates the “Royal Law” found in Leviticus and affirmed by Jesus: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” [25–26].
• Swindoll’s Confession: Swindoll shares a personal moment of conviction when he judged a man for sleeping during his sermon at a conference, only to later learn the man was suffering from a terminal illness and was on medication. He uses this to admit that even pastors can be “prejudiced hypocrites” when judging by appearance [32–33].
• Black Like Me: Swindoll references John Howard Griffin’s book Black Like Me, where a white man lived as a black man in the South to experience prejudice firsthand, illustrating how people’s attitudes shift based entirely on “face value” [29–30].

Message References:

• James 2:1–13: The primary text, forbidding favoritism and contrasting the treatment of the rich and poor in the assembly.
• 1 Corinthians 1:26–27: A reminder that God has chosen the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the wise and strong.
• Leviticus 19:18: The Old Testament source of the “Royal Law”: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:9–11: A list of sins (thieves, covetous, drunkards) followed by the reminder “and such were some of you,” highlighting that the church is made up of forgiven sinners, not just the “respectable.”
• John 8: The account of the woman caught in adultery, which Swindoll uses to illustrate that “mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Message Speaker:

Pastor Chuck Swindoll