Good Morning My Friends! Here we go again. Today we have another symptom or form of pride: favoritism. Keep reading, you may be surprised how favoritism actually looks.
I’m not referring to preferring a certain color or dessert. I’m referring to preferring some people over others because we’ve decided they’re more worthy. Not because they actually are more worthy, but because we’ve decided the attributes they possess are more honorable.
Showing Favoritism
The world tells us certain attributes are the most worthy such as the level of education and income, title or position in a company, popularity, etc. According to the world’s view, we’re supposed to treat people with these attributes as more important. Their words, wants, desires, and needs are where the power is, and we long to be associated with them.
This morning I’m focusing three examples of how we can show favoritism. Although I know there are many more. You can fill in the blanks in your own life how you may have shown or are showing favoritism to certain people just because they have an attribute you’ve deemed important for the sole purpose of benefiting yourself.
- Kissing up. We kiss up because we want to benefit. I have a personal story how I did this once and wow did it backfire on me. I used to work in a very high-end restaurant. There were many rich and famous people who would dine there. Kissing up to someone was never my thing, but I saw people do it all the time in this establishment for the pure benefit of themselves. Basically, it meant more money in their pockets. One evening, I gave into the temptation of favoritism, and I tried kissing up the manager who was assigning certain guests to certain tables. No sooner had I kissed up than my whole body was filled with intense guilt. I can’t really put words to it, but my soul actually hurt. I was immediately ashamed of myself. I knew kissing up to the manager was not how God wanted me to act. It demonstrated I wasn’t trusting God to provide for my needs, so I sought out someone else who I thought could help me by seating my section with the “right” people. Guess what? I had a horrible evening. My tips were less than ever and I realized how foolish I’d been. I did seek forgiveness from God. I never showed favoritism again by kissing up.
- Name dropping. When someone name drops it’s usually because they themselves want to be seen as important or more worthy of receiving special favor from the one who they are talking with. Again, that happened all the time in the restaurant I worked. I’ve also seen it happen in my current job when people are applying for employment. They drop names thinking that association alone will get them an interview. This is a very subtle form of pride.
- Neglecting some. We consciously or unconsciously pass over the weak, the inconvenient, and the unattractive, because they don’t seem to offer us much, or we think they are so disgusting, we walk right on by them. Here’s a great example of neglecting:
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 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. 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,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:1-4, NIV).
Neglecting others is disregarding them. This too is a sneaky symptom of pride.
Don’t overlook people because they don’t meet your criteria of “good enough to associate with.”
God doesn’t want us showing favoritism. He doesn’t.
“For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11, NIV).
Showing favoritism is sin and there are consequences for doing so:
“But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (James 2:9, NIV).
Honor Everyone
Instead of showing favoritism, let’s honor everyone.
God is instructing us to intentionally honor everyone today:
“Honor everyone” (1 Peter 2:17, HCSB).
We need to love one another and outdo one another in showing respect, regard, and dignity to everyone, not just those individuals who may have more money, high position in our company, or are physically attractive.
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10, NIV).
Favoritism is a form of pride. We need to know this is sin. Let’s stop today and refrain from favoritism.
Practical Application
I don’t know if you struggle with showing favoritism, but if you do, you can overcome it. With God’s help, you can stop kissing up to people, name dropping, or neglecting some. Let’s try that for today. Show honor to everyone today.
Just for Today
Refrain from Favoritism. Embrace Honoring Everyone!
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