When is favoritism wrong? - Favoritism - TouchPoints

Deuteronomy 1:16-17I instructed the judges, “You must be perfectly fair at all times, not only to fellow Israelites, but also to the foreigners living among you. When you make decisions, never favor those who are rich; be fair to lowly and great alike.”

Favoritism is wrong when judging people by the law or by established rules. If people can’t trust the law to be impartial, chaos and deception will reign.

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 you are guided by wrong motives? . . . Yes indeed, it is good when you truly obey our Lord’s royal command found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you pay special attention to the rich, you are committing a sin, for you are guilty of breaking that law.

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.