Playing Favorites

Playing Favorites

Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.”

Acts 10:34-35

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

Suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

James 2:1-4

We all have favorite people—particular friends and types of people we enjoy getting to know and spending time with more than others. We usually find it easy to be kind and caring toward these people. But the Bible says that a test of whether or not God is really at work in us is how we respond to people who are different from us—different in ways we don’t like or aren’t comfortable with, or in ways we think of as beneath us.

Favoritism is when we allow outward things about people to determine who we’ll mistreat and who we’ll flatter, who we’ll pay attention to and who we’ll ignore. Sometimes we show favoritism based on external things like appearance, race, wealth, popularity, or social status. This kind of unfair treatment flows out of our natural tendency to be takers instead of givers, users instead of servants. Until we are changed by the Holy Spirit into people who love like God loves—showing no favoritism—we will be nicer to people we see as having something to offer us. But when we begin to see people the way Jesus sees them, we start treating all people with respect and compassion. We start preferring all people above ourselves, regardless of where they come from, how they look, or who they are.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Who are some of your favorite people? Why?

What types of people are you tempted to show favoritism toward? What types of people are you tempted to overlook or treat disrespectfully?

What kind of “evil motives” could James 2:4 be talking about?