Favoritism Spoils Jesus’ Reflection in the Pool of Your Life
- Jack Selcher
- Sep 18
- 3 min read
Favoritism is the act of elevating people or groups at the expense of others. It is as widespread as weeds. It is a problem in the church.
Favoritism contradicts your faith. God judges it. That may surprise you. Jesus is the standard.
Even Jesus’ enemies acknowledged that He did not play favorites (Matthew 22:16). You possess Jesus’ life and represent Him in the world. How does favoritism misrepresent Jesus’ life to the world?
Evil intentions motivate favoritism. Suppose two Christians walk into your church’s worship service. Two seats remain.
One is a good seat toward the front. The other is in a very undesirable location.
One is the richest man in town. The other is barely eking out a living on his small farm.
There are lots of reasons to give the wealthy man the best seat. He would be a huge financial asset to the church. He’d improve its reputation in the community.
By comparison, the poor man could do neither. Giving the rich man the best seat because of his wealth is favoritism.
Primarily, the poor composed the early church. But they were rich in what matters most. God has chosen them to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom (James 2:5).
The account of the rich ruler (Mark 10:17-27) suggests a reason for God’s choice. Money was more important to the rich ruler than God was. That describes many rich people.
God chooses the foolish, weak, and lowly of this world so that no one may boast before Him (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). We dishonor those God honors when we exalt the rich above the poor.
God judges favoritism without mercy. It isn’t a social blunder. It is a sin. It breaks the command to love your neighbor as yourself.
It makes you as much of a lawbreaker as stealing your neighbor’s money. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10 NIV).
I cannot relate to stumbling at just one point. Like me, you probably belong to the “stumble in many ways” crowd (James 3:2).
Even if you had a 99% average in law-keeping, you would still be a lawbreaker. The law is like a seamless garment. To tear it slightly or to rip it to shreds flaws the garment.
The law expresses God’s character and will. He prohibits adultery, murder, and favoritism. All break the royal law by not loving your neighbor as yourself.
God will judge your speech and actions (James 2:12) against the standard of “love your neighbor as yourself.” He will reward you based on how you have met others’ needs. He will judge you without mercy if you pass judgment on others without mercy.
Your mission is to reflect Jesus. He has healed you to bring healing to others. He loves you despite your sins. He commands you to love others despite their imperfections.
He does not give you what you deserve. He challenges you to do the same with others.
He bestows grace and forgiveness. Please pass both on to others. Favoritism spoils Jesus’ reflection in the pool of your life. What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.
God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,150 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.
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