manly speaking, make possible a min istry such as Biola’s, we full well realize there may be nothing gla morous or exciting as far as the world’s values are concerned. There may be nothing beautiful or that which would commend itself to the society editor of the newspaper, but we know that within this soul is the majesty of the grace and the glory of the Lord God Almighty. Keep in mind that our Saviour Himself chose the poor of this world as His disci ples. It is a generally accepted fact that riches have a tendency to de grade men, rather than to build them up spiritually. In Romans 12:16 we read the words, “Be of the same mind one toward ano ther. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.” There was the wife of a man who headed a large Christian organization; you would know the name immediately. The couple is now out of Christian service entirely. Maybe it’s understandable, for the woman made no secret of the fact that they were choosing as their friends those who were in the pro fessional field. She commented,
brashly, “We make it a point never to cultivate those who are on our own social level. We try to make friends of those above us, those who are at a higher strata of income for it will do us and our organization more good in the long run.” Based upon the teaching of God’s Word, such actions are utterly de plorable and extremely sinful. It re minds me of someone’s definition of the so-called “upper crust.” He said that the “upper crust” is nothing but a bunch of crumbs “held together by their own dough.” We don’t mean that unkindly, yet it is sad to see those who put such a premium on money as the only merit for cultivat ing friendship. James gives us in verses two and three a very practical illustration. We read, “For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile rai ment. . . .” Here we have pictured two completely and differently garbed people who visit the church. The word come in the original Greek in dicates not those who are members, but rather those who attend occa sionally. The first we see is an in dividual with a gold ring. Such an ornament indicates the symbol of au thority. It may have been a person of high political or social prestige in the community. Keep in mind that James is not attacking the right to wear a gold ring or any other jewelry. Those who do, however, should ask themselves what’s behind the use of such adornments. Is it to impress others or is it because of a certain position which requires it. This fellow also had on “goodly ap parel.” This symbolizes garments of bright colors as is suggested in verse three. It’s generally true that we are impressed by the clothes other people wear. A husband and wife attended a church service. After the meeting was over, as they headed for the car, the wife asked, “Dear, did you hap-
Linesof students are a common sight on a college campus. Pictured are a number of the freshmanclass and transfer students whichmake up around 550 of the college's student body this fall semester. The group of young people were enjoying a Bar-B-Q during the opening daysof school.
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