In every social situation, it’s helpful to ask ourselves how Jesus would have handled it…
When the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” (Mark 2:16; NLT).
Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else (Luke 18:9; CEV).
Jesus,
At this gathering,
Who would you have sat beside?
Also, as you talked and laughed, Lord,
Who would you have hugged?
Jesus,
At this gathering,
Who would you have tried to side-step?
Also, as you broke the bread, Lord,
Who would you have judged?
Jesus,
At this gathering,
Who would you have listened to?
Also, as you blessed the wine, Lord,
Who would you have loved?
Jesus,
At this gathering,
Who would you have found too needy?
Also, as you washed their feet, Lord,
Who would you have snubbed?
He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle (Isaiah 42:3; NLT).
So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him (John 13:4; NLT).
References
He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me” (Mark 9:36-7; NIV).
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”… Then he [Jesus] turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love. Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven” (see Luke 7:36-48, NLT).
Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do” (Matthew 21:31; NLT).
The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40; NIV).