Abolish Favoritism

"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,  and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' while you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there,' or, 'Sit down at my feet,' have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" ~James 2:1-4

God clearly condemns favoritism, but American society thrives on it. Partiality always seems to be awarded to celebrities while those who struggle daily without complaint are ignored just because they don't make millions, aren't on the covers of magazines, and aren't the focal point of the news. 

What came to my attention recently, though, is that partiality is demonstrated much closer to home. For some, it might be evident in the local church. For me, it was brought up at Bible study how, to outsiders and newcomers, we might come off as cliquish. This discussion came up during prayer time within a small group. Somebody was brave enough to mention that he had noticed that there seemed to be new people who would appear, but then not return, and this person's primary concern was the fact that we may not be reaching out to newcomers as a whole. We are more apt to be wrapped up in our own cliques, showing favor to those who we naturally have conversations with, instead of reaching out to new faces who might be in most need of friendship and the love of Christ. I'm not saying that nobody reaches out to these newcomers ever, but the vast majority might not bat an eye at them unless they happen to end up seated next to them or are part of the same prayer group following the study.

I have no clear cut solution for how to get away from partiality, but I think being aware of how God views partiality might help us stray away from it. I'm sure I've been guilty of partiality because of self focus and not wanting to be bothered. We've all had those moments in our lives that we look forward to seeing certain people and can't be bothered with those who don't fit into our plan. This needs to get tossed out the window, though, if we are to demonstrate the love of Christ. He showed no partiality, and neither should we. God definitely won't show partiality on judgement day because we have all sinned and fall short of His glory. The fact that we demonstrate partiality in life is actually a sin, for it says in James 2:9, "But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors." My suggestion is to repent for any situation in which you may have unwittingly showed favoritism in any way. Also, the next time there is a new face at church or Bible study, attempt to reach out and befriend no matter what their background. You never know where new fellowship might lead.