When is favoritism wrong?

Deuteronomy 1:16-17“At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’”

Favoritism is wrong when judging people according to the law or by established rules. If people cannot trust the law to be impartial, chaos and deception will reign in a society.

James 2:3-4, 8-9If 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? . . . Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

Favoritism is wrong when people are judged according to their social status or wealth (or lack of it). Jesus came to rescue the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden. If we show favoritism to those who are healthy, rich, and happy, we are completely missing the point of the gospel. We should be equally happy to serve all of God’s people, regardless of their social or economic status.

Genesis 25:28Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

The Bible teaches that parents are to avoid making their children angry by the way they treat them (Ephesians 6:4). We can assume, therefore, that parents are to love all their children with the same kind of unconditional love. Here we see that Isaac openly favored Esau while Rebekah favored Jacob. The result of their favoritism was deceit, pain, and broken relationships. God, our heavenly Father, loves all people equally and unconditionally. This is the example we are to follow.