Not Playing Favorites

Favoritism is a nearly unavoidable trait of human nature.  Simply, favoritism or partiality refers to preferring or biasing one person over another. Although favoritism can refer to things, its theological relevance concerns the favoring of persons.  The Scriptural account is unified in its understanding of favoritism: it should be avoided.

If we, as Christians, are to look to the Lord's example in regards to how we treat people.  Paul indicates that God shows no partiality (Rom. 2:11).  Although it can be said with certainty that God creates individuals and gifts them uniquely, He loves and treats them with equality.  God simply requires obedience and faith from everyone.

As God's example becomes us, through the Holy Spirit and Bible study, we will begin to live lives that are guided by the Spirit.  This process of sanctification infuses our selfs with God's self.  As this happens, we will be severed from our fleshly tendencies towards favoritism in lieu of God's unbiased love.

Favoritism is a human, fleshly perspective.  When we favor one person over another, we are letting our fleshly perceptions guide our love.  The tragedy of this is that, too often, the one whom the Lord may intend for us to love, is rarely the one we would choose to love.  Because man looks at the flesh while God looks at the heart, we should not rely on our fleshly perceptions in deciding who it is that God has called us to care for.  Instead, we should rely on the Spirit to guide our perceptions and lead ys to those that we were meant to love and care for.

In his epistle, James confirms that we should not ever show partiality in our interactions (James 2:1-7).  James insists that we should not show favoritism but should always maintain a care for people that transcends our fleshly perceptions of worth.  One of the goals of the Christian life is to start to see the world as God.  Being impartial and not showing favoritism is one of the ways in which we live out a faith in a life that sees as He sees and loves as He loves.

The Mercy of God

Mercy is a major part of God's character.  He is full of mercy (James 5:11).  Mercy, as a word, is charged with theological significance and spiritual ramifications.  To speak of the mercy of God is dense though because to single out God's mercy is to downplay the multi-faceted nature of God's mercy.  As God's mercy is not singular in its actualization, a more accurate understanding would be to think of God's mercy in terms of mercies plural.

First and foremost, salvation is God's supreme act of mercy.  This, the widest use of the mercy, refers to a  holy, righteous, and just God staying His hand of judgment by His own will.  Although God would be fully just and right to condemn the world for its sin, He, in His great mercy, chose to save the world through the work of His son, Jesus, and by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5).  This is mercy at its finest.

However, the Lord's mercy is not a one time only event.  Rather, His mercy is continually renewed (Lam. 3:22-23).  God's mercy is renewed, not because His mercy storehouses are emptied in the slightest.  Instead, His mercies are renewed as His mercy is needed.  Because His mercy is not a static point but serves dynamic uses, His mercy is continually being transferred from divine to the physical for our great benefit.  Thus the renewal does not mean that God is making more mercy but that we are using more of it.

Moreover, His mercy is given to those who earnestly seek Him (Deut. 7:9; Isa. 55:6-7; Psa. 103:17; Luke 1:50).  This is remarkable and the defining feature of God's mercy: He bestows mercy on all who come to Him seeking it.  There would be no need to give mercy to those that don't think they need it, so the essential components of the reception of God's mercy are confession, repentance, and belief.

Also, God gives mercy generously, but He does so for the purpose of relationship, not religion.  If we are glib to God's mercy, we are entirely missing the pont.  When faced with God's mercy, we should strive to be penitent and sincere, understanding the utter gravity of His mercy in reference to the absolute weight of our sin.

Lastly, it is by God's great mercy that we may enter into a right and redeemed relationship with Him (Psa. 5:7).  Therefore, when we are in moments that we feel separated from His presence, we should prayer with fervor and in faith that God would stretch His mercy upon us as to return us to His right and perfect presence.  The beauty is that He extends His mercy on all who ask.  Additionally, He delights and desires to show His mercy to us (Mic. 7:1-8).  Ergo, we should make it a habit to praise Him for and ask Him for mercy.  Praise be to God for His great and perfect mercy!