Faith That Works: Favoritism

Have you ever thought that another person was WEIRD (different, awkward), and that fact changed how you acted around and treated them?  I have met plenty of weird people in my opinion.  I’ll be honest, I think that some of YOU are weird.  Even more honestly, I am confident that many of your think that I am weird.  Actually, I have a relational theory . . . ALL OF US are weird!  As normal as you think you are, and think that normal means being “just like you”, there is someone out there that thinks they are the normal one and that you are weird. 

When someone is similar to us, we often think more of them and treat them in ways that elevate them.  When someone is different from us, we often think less of them and treat them in ways that degrade them.  None of us qualifies to make the judgment that we are more important, more significant, or more valuable than anyone else.  We are all imperfect sinners who are deserving of being ignored and rejected.  When we finally come to the realization that we are all a bit weird, we will be in the humble position to treat all others without favoritism.  By considering others weird (or different) and showing favoritism, we are standing in judgment and our verdict is that we are better than them.  This is NOT appropriate for a follower of Jesus Christ!

James 2:1-13

What are some ways we show favoritism?  1) AVOID those who are different than us. 2) IGNORE or PAY LITTLE ATTENTION to those who do not benefit us. 3) Emotionally/verbally/physically MISTREAT those who are lesser than us (gossip, embarrass).  Each of these ways we show favoritism draw a circle around us that only allows certain people in and keeps other people out.  We must erase our boundaries of favoritism and make efforts to allow anyone and everyone into our lives no matter how similar or different they might be!

How do we avoid showing favoritism?

1.  HONOR other people ABOVE yourself (vs 6) – Rather than dishonor others who we believe to be lesser than us by avoiding them, ignoring them, or intentionally mistreating them, we need to treat them as if they are more significant than us.  The only way to live this out is by choosing to make ourselves a servant to all people at all times.  Jesus Christ is our example of what servanthood looks like, Phil. 2:6 says that He, “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant . . .”  Growing and maturing as a follower of Christ is always a demotion. 

2.  LOVE others as you love YOURSELF (vs 8) – By asking ourselves, “how would I want to be treated in this situation?” we are equipping ourselves with the attitude necessary to treat all people with respect, honor, dignity, and equality (cf. Luke 6:31).  No one likes to be intentionally avoided, ignored, or mistreated.  If this is not how we would like someone to treat us, then we must not treat others in this way.  Remember, everyone wants to be treated with genuine respect, honor, and value.

3.  Extend MERCY when you feel like passing judgment (vs 13) – Treating another person with kindness and compassion, no matter what we think of them or how they have treated us in the past, is a winning choice every time!  We will never go wrong in relationships when we choose to be merciful rather than judgmental no matter how different another person might seem.  To the same extent that we are merciful or pass judgment will be the same extent to which God is merciful or passes judgment on us (cf. Mt. 6:14-15).

CONCLUSION

Favoritism is very self-focused.  When we are in relationships only for our own benefit we will favor those we think will benefit us.  Favoritism will disappear when our relationships become other-focused.  When we are in relationships for the benefit of others we will be willing to honor, love, and extend mercy to anyone, no matter how “weird” we think they might be!