Ephesians 4:1-3 Then I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling in which you were called, with all humility and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We are all a part of the family of God. He created each one of us and loves all of us equally. Therefore since we are a family and equal in God's eyes, there should be no favoritism. Neither should we swing to the opposite extreme and be patronizing or condescending to those we might consider beneath us or lower than us. There is no one lower than us. We are all on the same level. It doesn't matter what the person's income is, social status, or mental abilities are, or even what they have done in the past. All are equal. All should be treated with kindness, and forgiven of any past mistakes. Take a look at the next two texts;

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, having forgiven one another, even as also God forgave you in Christ. Ephesians 4:32

Don't act out of selfish ambition or be conceited. Instead, humbly think of others as being better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted towards each other. Forgive each other just as God forgave each of us. We all expect God to forgive us, but we're not willing to extend forgiveness to each other. We don't even show the love and kindness to each other that we expect God to show us.

One afternoon my husband and I went for a drive up in the hills.  We were dressed in very comfortable clothing, the kind you wear when you're going to be hiking or walking in nature. We had to stop by a local church to deliver some information to a friend of mine who was one of the guest speakers at that church.  The look on the face of the usher, who opened the door for me, showed he didn't approve of my attire. I told the usher that my friend had requested some information and I just needed to get it to him. The usher, who's face a grown quite long, questioned if I even knew the guest speaker. After I delivered the information and started to leave the church, the usher backed away and didn't open the door for me.

What if I had been some person who just happened to walk in off the street, looking for a church to be in? That man's obvious disapproval of my attire would have sent me back out the door! It doesn't matter what a person is wearing. That person should be welcomed the same way we welcome a family member . Most of us haven't seen our church members for a week or even longer. There should be joy in seeing each other again and a desire to know how each other is doing. And when a guest arrives, they should be treated the same as an honored house guest. I don't care if their hair is purple, or if they're wearing jeans and t-shirt full of holes. I don't care if they have a nose ring. They should be welcomed with joy. God created that person. He loves that person. Through Adam, we are all related. Welcome everyone with love and joy!