How Bad Is Favoritism Really? Series

Mean Girls and Bullies

Are a common theme in the movies and entertainment in part because…

It is a part of human nature - to be accepted and to be close to people who can help us get ahead.

In school that might look like working your way into the crowd of cool kids - even if that means compromising values.

In the workplace - that might look like playing political games in order to work your self into favorable positions or assignments.

Numerous movies and TV shows have discussed that topic - from the musical Grease to Mean Girls 1 & 2, to Inside out 2. It’s a repeated refrain in entertainment because it’s so easy for us to have a selfish outlook when we interact with other people.

And yet, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be with the people of God.

If you have your bibles, go ahead and open them to the book of James. We’re taking several weeks to walk through this very practical and pointed book. James originally wrote to Jewish background believers who were dispersed because of persecution in order to provide them some wisdom for living in a hostile land. In our conversations on chapter 1, we’ve discussed topics such as trials, perseverance, wisdom, contentment, and how we should interact with others. Today, we’re going to turn the page into chapter 2 as James dives a bit deeper in our interactions.

I think I’ve mentioned before that James seems to hop around a lot. He moves quickly from one subject to the next and then even back to revisit a previous subject. If you were to draw lines across the book or take string to connect certain topics, you would have a web of connections - backward, forward, up, down.

This is part of the reason why we’re starting in verse 27 of chapter 1 today. In verses 26 and 27, James seems to have a two-verse transition. The first of those connects well with last week (which is why we stopped there), the second, introduces and even almost outlines this week’s topic.

James’ underlying challenge is that the life God calls us to live is marked by an unbiased love toward others and not stained with the selfish sin of favoritism.

James 1:27 ESV

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

In the previous verse, James urged us to think about how our speech represents our relationship with God - in other words - our religion. Here he takes it to a next step and helps us see how that religion or relationship with God is manifested in other interactions.

Beginning there, James seems to communicate that…

Favoritism tarnishes the glory of Jesus (1:27-2:7)

James 2:1 ESV

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

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James uses interesting language, again, in this section - he essentially equates Jesus with the shekinah glory of God. David Nystrom notes that the shekinah is “the visible manifestation of the divine.” He goes on to say that James, the half-brother of Jesus, “believes that in Jesus God is revealed.”

So, the weight of James’ argument is really in a profound place. The very object of our faith, Jesus Christ, is the glory of God. His overall argument in the verses that we are considering today is that favoritism has no place in Jesus’ people because favoritism has no place in Jesus. In other words, favoritism is unbecoming of Jesus’ people.

But that forces us to ask the question...

What is favoritism?

Or as some translations say - partiality.

Favoritism is essentially “the practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another.” (Apple dictionary)

The Greek word that is translated partiality or favoritism literally reads “to accept a face” meaning more fully - “to make unjust distinctions between people by treating one person better than another.” (Louw Nida)

It’s as though when we are playing favorites or acting with partiality, we are looking at face value and making a judgment based on style rather than substance.

Years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. seemed to hint at this when he looked forward to the day when his children would be judged based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin.

Now, it doesn’t seem like James has race or even gender in mind, but rather wealth, social station, and even power, though I do think a racial and gender application may fit as well. But, remember in the last verse of chapter 1 James noted that “pure and undefiled” religion is to “visit orphans and widows in their time of need….” Let’s keep that in the back of our minds as we think through a few of what J.A. Moyter referred to as “experiences” that James uses as illustrations.