Okay, so we
all do it.[1] We
believe a family member’s story over the person they are gossiping about. We take
the side of the person in our church over the person in another church who is
the subject of their story. We find ourselves believing someone from our own
denominational persuasion against those from other denominations. We consider
that those from our “position” must be right when they describe a conflict with
someone from another position.
It’s called
favoritism, treating people as favorites; or partiality, being partial to
certain people. It is giving more points to the stories told by those who are “in”,
and demanding multiple credentials, witnesses, and evidence, of anyone whose
story comes from “out”. God hates an unfair balance in any realm.[2]
Favoritism and
partiality are often partnered with prejudging. Prejudging is to allow
ourselves to make a judgment before it is time. It is to judge a situation, or a
person, after hearing only one side of the story, usually because the person
telling the story is from in our group, whichever kind of group we may be in. As
the proverb says, “The one who states his
case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”[3]
Favoritism,
partiality, and prejudging have a way of turning on us like deadly poison.
Sitting down to have a good drink of gossip because the person doing the
gossiping is close to us, simply means that we are poisoning ourselves with
gossip. At the same time, we are opening the door for this gossip to kill and
destroy relationships as long as it is in the system, so to speak. Gossip is
poison no matter who is doing the gossiping. If we allow it in our group, it
just means our group is the next to get poisoned.[4]
Here are some
things God says about favoritism, partiality, and prejudging (and whatever
synonyms are used in various translations). “Do
not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the
great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”[5]
The issue to God is fairness, not favoritism. He does not want us picking the
side of the poor because they are the underdog, or the side of the rich because
they have earned their way.
This fairness
is necessary in all areas of life, so that we are not perverting justice by
showing partiality to the gossip done in our group while condemning the gossip
in another group. We are to judge both the gossiper and the gossipee with equal
fairness.
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus
and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging,
doing nothing from partiality.”[6]
Paul is clear to pastors, as exemplified in his ministry to Timothy, that the
men who lead the church are to follow the teachings of leadership in the New
Testament without getting caught prejudging situations after hearing only one
side of a story, or from showing partiality to certain members of the
congregation.
“My brothers, show no partiality (favoritism,
NIV) as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.”[7]
There is no room for partiality or favoritism in the church. Faith is the
ultimate leveler. As someone has said, there is level ground at the foot of the
cross. There is no clique in God’s family, no uncles and aunts of special
distinction. All are sons of God,[8]
brothers to Jesus,[9]
and brothers to one another.[10]
“But if you show partiality (favoritism,
NIV), you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”[11]
Clear enough? To be partial to someone based on closeness of relationship, or
to show favoritism for some people so that their stories are given exalted
status above God’s rules of fairness, is to commit sin. Being in the “in” group
in a church is not a special status sanctioned by God, allowing for unfair
treatment of people around us (our neighbors).
This morning I
had to clear up some of my own failures in showing favoritism and partiality to
people, while prejudging others based on the stories I was told. Thankfully,
God’s discipline in these matters is gloriously loving. He lets us get burned
when we take these matters into our own sarky hands, and graciously heals the
brokenhearted and binds up our wounds when we come to our senses and realize
what we have done wrong.
I John 1:9 was
a special ministry to my heart this morning, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Favoritism, partiality, and
prejudging, are sins. Any questions?
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, Canada, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
I mean this in the sense that none of us are yet perfect, we all have this
tendency, and all need the encouragement and reminder to examine ourselves in
this regard.
[2]
Leviticus 19:36; Proverbs 11:1
[3]
Proverbs 18:17
[5]
Leviticus 19:15
[6]
I Timothy 5:21
[7]
James 2:1
[8]
Galatians 3:26
[9]
Hebrews 2:10-13
[10]
Here is the word “brother” just from Paul’s letters to the churches. While
there may be other references than the brotherhood of believers, there are
plenty that show this brotherly relationship that is central to our church
life: https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?search=brother&version=ESV&searchtype=all&bookset=10&resultspp=500
[11]
James 2:9
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