What do we do when a person has said or done something wrong? Surely we would counsel the person, or even reprimand him or her for his or her words and actions. But sometimes, we come across people who practice double standards. When it comes to rich or influential persons, such people would be extra nice or kind to them; but when it comes to the poor or the meek or the marginalised, such people may treat them like dirt. What should we do, if we call ourselves Christians? Are we impartial, or do we practice double standards?
In today's reading, we see St. Paul being
bold and willing to tell St. Peter off in his face. Even though St.
Peter was an apostle and could be considered an influential person, St. Paul was impartial in
his counsel. St. Peter was wrong by suddenly changing his
attitude towards eating with pagans, just because a certain group of
friends of James arrived. St. Peter may have been unwilling to create
tension or issues with those group of friends of James, but his conduct
was unbecoming of an apostle, who is supposed to be impartial, loving and fair to
all, without fear or favour. Because of this, St. Paul gave St. Peter a
piece of his mind: he told him off!
What about us? As
Christians, are we being fair and loving to all, regardless of status,
rank, or importance? Let us be impartial towards others, so that others would know and understand what it means to be a disciple of Christ.
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