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SHOWING NO FAVOURITISM

SCRIPTURE READING
ISAIAH 35:4-7
JAMES 2:1-10
MARK 7:24-37

REFLECTION

Showing no favouritism is the theme for our reflection. Favouritism is giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another. Showing no favouritism means God is fair in His dealings with us. We shall reflect on the following facts:

1. God shows no favouritism because His salvation is for both the Jews and Gentiles.
2. We must eschew favouritism because we are one in fellowship with Christ through faith.

Firstly, God shows no favouritism when it comes to our salvation. God’s salvation was to all who have faith in Him whether they are Jews or not. One may be tempted to believe that God favoured Israel over other nations, however, the New Testament gives us a clear picture of God’s plan to save the world through His covenant with Israel. God remembered the Israelites in their captivity in Babylon and promised to save them in Isaiah 35:4, “say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Similarly, Jesus proves to us that God shows no favouritism, therefore when the Gentile or Greek Syrophoenician woman approached Him to save her child from the bondage of impure spirit (demon), Jesus after testing her faith, said to her “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” (Mark 7:29) We see evidence of the redemptive power of God at work in the lives of both the Jews and the Gentiles. It is for this reason Paul wrote, For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile —the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:12-13) Again, Paul re-echoes the fact that God shows no favouritism when he wrote “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favouritism. (Romans 2:7-11).

Secondly, having discovered that God shows no favouritism, and He has shown us an example through our Lord Jesus Christ, We must eschew favouritism because we are one in fellowship with Christ through faith. We must demonstrate fairness and treat everyone with dignity and respect in the house of God and anywhere we shall experience the bond of fellowship. To this end, we are greatly admonished in James, “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?… If you keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” (James 2:1-4,8-9). Beloved in the Lord, we are being called upon to treat everyone with respect and dignity irrespective of the person’s economic class. We must remember that we share a common humanity. Wealth or affluence does not make anyone more human than the other. Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy, “7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. (1 Timothy 6:7) Everything we have belongs to God. It is only by grace that some have been blessed with wealth. Possession of wealth and power is the yardstick of measuring a person’s worth or importance in the world but among Christians, our discipleship status renders us equal before the Lord. Irrespective of our backgrounds, we are mandated to show love, respect and dignity to everyone created in the image and likeness of God. To eschew all forms of favouritism we must follow Jesus’ example when He said “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19)

In summary, we have learnt that God shows no favouritism because His salvation is for both the Jews and Gentiles. Again, we must eschew favouritism because we are one in fellowship with Christ through faith. May the Holy Spirit empower us not to show favouritism in our dealings with one another. Amen