Have You Got Good Religion?
James 1:26-27 (ESV)
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Martin Luther once said, “The world doesn’t need a definition of religion as much as it needs a demonstration.” Religion is the outward expression of an inward truth. Contextually, James calls Christians to put their faith claim into consistent action. One of the ways that Christians demonstrate their faith claim in Jesus Christ is how they minister to marginalized people or people groups in their own communities. This is what James is describing as pure and undefiled religion before. Religion that is clean and without blemish is a religion that is involved in the brokenness and dirtiness of other people without getting stained.
James 1:27 is descriptive rather than prescriptive. James is not commanding Christians to do something, but he’s inviting them to be something! In James 1:26, he’s inviting Christians to be in control of their speech and in James 1:27, he’s inviting them to be compassionate towards those who have been marginalized and disenfranchised by society. Verse 27 includes the orphans and the widows, but it doesn’t stop with them. Orphans and widows were the most marginalized, despised and vulnerable class of people in their communities, so they were pushed aside by society because they were thought to possess no lasting legacy or contribute to the good of the society. Orphans and widows were representatives of all who are disenfranchised and marginalized in this world. These are the persons and groups that Christians ought to move towards and minister to with pure hands and hearts. James 1:26-27 gives the ultimate description of what good religion is before God. And the question that Christians must ask themselves continuously is this, do I got good religion? Good religion is God honoring religion!
God, help me to demonstrate my faith claim in you by controlling my mouth, being compassionate towards those who are broken in my community and by being holy in my conduct, Amen!