Favouritism: A Real Issue

But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:9

The physical appearance, the mode of dress, the approach, the attitude, the respect shown, are some of the factors that will help to determine how we respond to and treat others. Every since I was confronted by the fact I have been thinking long and hard. What fact? Showing favouritism. Yes! I have been.

Whenever I stopped at a certain traffic light a young man would come to wash the windscreen of my vehicle. Whether it is clean or not I would allow him and compensate him. Without thinking, I never said “no” to him. Occasionally, especially if he is not there, someone else may get the “job”. On a few occasions a particular young man had approached me but I cannot recall ever allowing him to do the “job”. Well!!! Recently I had a rude awakening. When he approached me I said “no” and he blurted out “every I come you say no and you always look out for others”. I was shocked. The light changed to green and I drove off but a fire began to rage within me. I was being noticed by a “street boy”. I started to question myself. I was being tormented by the fact that the “street boys” who washed windscreen were noticing me. His words harassed me all day. Three days later I was there again and the same one who confronted me came. This time he again told me of my actions and called the name of the other individual. My wife was amazed that he actually called the person’s name. Whew!! A street boy was calling me out. My goodness!

My wife and I had a lively conversation about why I was showing favouritism. The young men are all seeking an honest, though unfortunate, living. So why am I so accommodating and generous to one and totally dismissive of the other?

Is favouritism/partiality bad or good; necessary or unnecessary? One definition says favouritism is “the unfair practice of treating some people better than others”. Surely, it is not just about how we treat someone. The operative word is “better”. So if I treat you better than how I treat another person I am showing favouritism, or as another definition says “the showing of special favour or partiality”.

In our text James told the believers that we commit sin if we show partiality. It is against God’s will for God’s people. God does not practice favouritism and disapproves of it. In Acts 10: 34 Peter is recorded as saying “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality”. God is merciful to the just and the unjust and makes rain on the just and the unjust. This is affirmed in Rom. 2:11. Deut. 10:17, Eph. 6:9; James 3:17 to name a few. In Genesis 29:31 we are given an understanding of God’s response to partiality/favouritism. God stepped in and transformed the situation.

Even as I reflect on this I am constrained to acknowledge that favouritism is present and alive in the workplace, classroom, boardroom, church, committee, parliament, and in families. Why do some persons have a particular leaning towards one persons and just cannot feel at ease with another? What is it why within a family of three, five or nine there is favouritism? Or why do certain persons sit beside each other in the board meeting? Is it just because “birds of a feather flock together” or is there something more sinister, or practical and fundamental than that? Can we live without being partial? It seems to me that humans are prone to show favouritism. Unfortunately that is no comfort because we are required to reflect God in our dealings with each other.

Thought: Don’t try to treat each person the same way. We are all different.

Prayer Focus: Pray for courage to treat each person as God would treat them.