Walk of Life – Day 24 – November 2020 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 24:24. It is not good to show partiality in judgment. He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him.

Partiality and favoritism…we have come across this from a very early age. We have seen it in our homes, in school, in church, at the workplace, no one can say that they have not been the victim of partiality or not been partial to anyone. The Lord is no respecter of persons. Between siblings, friends, colleagues, all of us have experienced partiality. It is something that comes naturally to us. We get attracted to someone who is more good looking, who is articulate in speech, who is more talented, who is very smart, the list is endless.

There is also something called flattering. He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Again, this is something we come across in our daily lives. People try to please others when they know they would profit in some way from it. We come across a lot of people who would be so sweet and cordial to someone in front of them, but behind their backs it would be so obvious that they hate them. The Lord detests hypocrisy and flattery. The Lord loves straightforwardness, honesty, and truthfulness. By being partial to someone and diverting justice from the righteous, the Lord is displeased.

Favoritism and partiality is sin and as children of God we need to practice avoiding it.

First, we need to look at others the way the Lord looks at them with eyes of love. 

“In Jesus’s birth and life, He broke down the walls between rich and poor, young and old, educated and uneducated. It is wrong for us to build those walls again; we cannot rebuild them if we believe in the grace of God.” ~Warren Wiersbe

Second, we need to obey the divine law of loving your neighbor as yourself. If you follow this, automatically favoritism vanishes. James 2:9 says if you are partial then you are disobeying the law and if you are guilty of transgressing one law you are guilty of transgressing all.

Third, favoritism discourages others. I had a dear friend who was not that beautiful outwardly and because of that she was put down at many occasions in her life. I could see that inferiority complex building up, the discouragement and disappointment tormenting her. Its nice to be the favored one, but definitely not to be the one despised and detested. I always think of Leah and Rachel in the Bible. Just think how she would have felt. But its so beautiful how God saw that she was despised and honored her by blessing her with sons who went on to be the important tribes of Israel. Whenever you tend to favor someone, just think of what must be going through that person’s mind, the person who is being put down. It will bring a lot of perspective to the way you treat people.

Fourth, what you sow you will reap. Always in life, what goes around, comes around. If you have been fair and just to people around you, it will come to you may not be immediately but eventually. If you have been trying to please people and shown favor, some day you will feel the brunt of it. Do to others as you wish them to do to you. Be fair and just and honest always. It will be difficult, a dead fish goes along with the tide, a live fish swims against the tide.

Fifth, by playing favorites, you are dethroning God.  In other words, by choosing your favorites, you are the judge not God. You are determining the worth of the other person. One of the key principles of our assemblies is ” Every believer is equally precious, equally necessary and equally important in the sight of God” The whole sin of favoritism lies in the fact that you enthrone yourself as judge and dethrone God.

If you are a victim of favoritism and feeling hurt, lonely, despised, and depressed today, take heart. The God of Leah is the same today. He loves you immensely. Every stone in the habitation of God is equally important, every member in the body is absolutely essential. Trust in the Lord. Never let anyone put you down or make you feel unimportant. You are special and precious. Do not play favorites and even if someone tries to put you down, believe in God and yourself and overcome the feeling of inferiority.

“Favoritism: Funny how so many people say it is not fair, but most of them are the first to display it and the first to deny it.”