I Hate Being Used. And I Use People. (Why James Checks the Seating Chart)

Nobody likes feeling used. But what happens when we realize we do the same thing to other people... often without even noticing? James 2. Two men walk into a church. One wears a gold ring and a toga bleached brilliant white (with urine, it turns out). The other owns one outfit, and it’s filthy. James asks a simple question: who gets the good seat? In the Roman world, giving the rich man the best seat wasn’t just smart. It was considered the moral thing to do. But James says the judgments we make in 1/10th of a second reveal what we really believe about God, about other people, and about ourselves. This message explores favoritism, status, usefulness, and the strange freedom of discovering that God does not love you because of what you can do for him. Used people use people. But loved people are free to love people. And in the kingdom of Jesus, mercy triumphs over judgment. Download this week's group discussion guide here.