James 2:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

As it is written, “Because of you My name is continually blasphemed among the nations” (Is 52:5).

The divine Chrysostom also says: “Let us glorify God, not by faith only, but by life. Otherwise this will not be glory, but blasphemy.

God is not so much blasphemed by the unclean life of a Greek as by the corruption of a Christian” (Homily 67 on the Gospel of John).

And again he says: “Let us, who boast in the rightness of faith, not dishonor God by a life that does not correspond to faith, nor provide occasion for blasphemy against Him” (Homily 52 on John).

For when Greeks and unbelievers see even a small sin in some Christian, they do not condemn him alone, but the whole Christian race.

Nor do they stop with him. Through the servant they blaspheme the Master, Christ, as the same Golden-Mouthed Father says.

“When unbelievers notice even a small negligence in one of us, they immediately sharpen their tongue against all of us in general.

Because of one man’s carelessness they pronounce sentence on the whole Christian race. Nor do they stop even at this.

Because of the negligence of the servants, they dare to blaspheme the common Master” (Homily 6 on Genesis).

That the name Christian is praiseworthy and venerable is witnessed by the wise Theodoret, who says: “The concept ‘Christian’ is full of glory and blessing.

When people wish to extol someone, they usually say with great praise, ‘a true Christian.’ And when they make a request, they again customarily say, ‘Do this as a Christian; do this as befits a Christian.’”

Saint Mitrophan says that James calls “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” the royal law, not only because it was legislated by God, the King of all, but also because this law is like a royal road.

All people especially travel along the royal road, because it is straight, level, and runs through the middle. It turns neither right nor left, neither toward cliffs nor uneven places.

As the Hebrews said to the king of Edom: “We will not pass through fields or vineyards. We will go by the royal road. We will not turn aside to the right or to the left, until we have passed your borders” (Num 20:17).

In the same way, the law by which one must love his neighbor as himself is a kind of mean and right disposition.

It does not allow one to turn either to the right or to the left, that is, neither into excess nor into deficiency, neither into what is above nature nor into what is contrary to nature.

This mean is almost natural for men. Therefore it must be kept by all, because all men have a common nature.

Thus the natural property of all animals is to love those like themselves, as Sirach says: “Every animal loves what is like itself, and every man loves his neighbor” (Sir 13:19).

But to love one’s neighbor more than oneself is above this commandment and is beyond nature. This is taught by the New Covenant, which is more perfect and more excellent than the old.

To hate one’s neighbor is already below this commandment and is contrary to nature. The middle is the commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself.

Therefore he says: if you keep this royal commandment, brothers, and love your neighbor as yourselves, you do well.

But if you act with partiality, preferring the rich man before the poor man, you sin. You are reproved by the Law as transgressors of the commandments of the Law.

That wealth often does not lead to the glory of God is shown quite often by examples in Scripture (see Lk 12:21; 1 Tim 6:9). The Apostle James shows that even among Christians there were rich people unworthy of the name of Christian.

Yet it was precisely to such persons that preference was often shown, and even in assemblies. Truly, this was an action done neither according to conscience nor according to discernment.