Today’s reading is James 1: 19-27:

James gives us a glimpse of true religion today.  What is it?  To care for the most vulnerable among us and to keep yourself from playing by the rules of this world.  Those are huge things for us to hear today.  James tells the believers to take care of widows and orphans.  In his world, those would have been the individuals that would have literally have had no protection or care.  Widows were unable to provide for themselves or for the family. They would have been destitute. Same for orphans, they had no family and in that culture, your family was who you were and who you would become. Without a family, you had no present or future. James says – care for these.

Today, who are those that are in need like that?  Who are those that are defenseless?  Hopeless?  Have no one to care for them?  True religion is to care for these.  James doesn’t care much about what we say.  He cares greatly about how we live.

And that leads into the second point of true religion, to keep yourself unstained from the world.  The world tries to tell us what matters.  How we should live.  Who we should be.  The world, the culture, this moment, they are always trying to tell us who we are supposed to be.  James says – NO!  You don’t take your cues from the world, you take your cues from Jesus.  Follow Him.  Don’t worry about them.  Worry about Him.

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