Have you ever seen the movie Have You Seen My Gal? It is an old, black-and-white movie about a millionaire who is growing old. When He was young, he fell in love with a girl, but she didn’t love him and refused to marry him. Being unable to withstand the heartbreak, he left the town.

After settling in a new town, he quickly became a successful millionaire. However, he never forgot the girl who broke his heart. When he became old, he decided to leave his fortune to the family of this girl. He reasoned that, if she hadn’t rejected him, then he never would have become rich. However, he wanted to meet her family before he gave them his fortune.

He returned to his hometown, pretending to be a poor old man. He went and boarded with the family of his old love. While living with them, he arranged for them to be given one hundred thousand dollars. Now you have to understand that in the forties this was a lot of money. The family was instantly rich.

Once they received the money, their attitude toward life changed. They quit their jobs, moved to an expensive part of town, and, in the process, kicked the old man out. Now that they were rich, they would no longer associate with the man they thought was poor. The movie ends with the family losing everything. The old man decides that they are better of poor, so he doesn’t give them his inheritance.

As I watched this movie, the thought came to me that many times we as Christians do the same thing these people did. Here was a man who was filthy rich, but they thought he was poor. They treated him meanly, rejected him, and threw him out of his house. However, if they had known he was rich, then they probably would have treated him much better. How many times do we as Christians show favoritism to those who are wealthy or rich. Do we treat the rich and the poor the same way. If we read James 2:1-13, we see how God views the way we treat others. He doesn’t want us to judge others. He wants us to treat all people the same.
James says that we shouldn’t judge others. When we do, we are rejecting those that God has chosen. One day we will be judged in the same way that we judge others. Verse 5 reads, Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?

This passage shows us that we shouldn’t judge others because they are chosen by God. We are all created by God as unique and special people. Sometimes we as humans tend to judge people by the position they hold, their social status, or the way they look. However, this is not how God judges others. The old song we used to sing as children clearly shows how Jesus views this. “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

God doesn’t judge us by our outward appearance, social status, or wealth. He judges us by what is inside. God looks for a heart that is committed to Him, who seeks Him, and wants to do His will. We need to view people in the same way. All people are God’s chosen people. I Peter 2:9 says that, “ you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” This verse clearly tells us we are chosen by God for His purpose. It doesn’t say only the rich, the good looking, or the influential are chosen. It says we are all chosen. We must not judge others, because when we judge them, we are judging God’s chosen child.

James also shows us that shouldn’t judge others because someday we will also be judged in the same way that we judge others. We read in verse 12 “So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. For judgment [is] without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment”.

This verses show us that someday we will be judged in the same way that we judge others. I remember when I was younger, I read a novel about a woman who was a judge. This woman was having an affair with a man, and when he decided to end their relationship, she shot and killed him. The cops arrested a man who they thought had committed the murder, and this man was sent to trial. The judge of the trial was the woman who had committed the murder. She sentenced the innocent man to a life sentence. Years later through a series of events, the judge came to the place where she couldn’t stand the guilt any longer, and she turned herself in. Once convicted, she was sentenced to death. This women could not understand why she was given such a harsh sentence. She complained to the judge. The Judge replied, “How can you think that you would receive a lesser sentencing. You, a supposedly honored judge, sent a man to jail for a crime which you yourself committed. Why should you be given mercy? Did you show mercy to the man you sent to jail?”

Someday we will all stand trial before God. We will be judged by Him according to our actions here on earth. Matthew 7:1-2 reads “ Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Someday we will be called upon to give account of our actions to God. We will kneel before God and look into His eye and give a reason why we did what we did. What reason would you give him for treating people the way that you treated them?

When we were children, we accepted others. We watched Sesame Street where blue puppets got along with red puppets. In our innocence, money and power where not the deciding factor of how we treated people. We didn’t really care if someone wore designer jeans or had a face of an angel. We accepted people for who they were. How did we become so polluted? Why do these things weigh so heavily on our hearts? We need to come to the place where we view people by who they are in God. We must quit judging others, for as James so clearly shows us, we are judging the people that God has chosen, and someday will be judged in the same way that we judge others. I think we all need to take a look at ourselves and ask ourselves, “Do I judge other people like Jesus would? Honestly ask yourselves this question. Are changes needed in your perspective?We all needs to remember this one fact: The way that you judge other people is the same way that God will judge you.

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