James talked for 13 verses on favoritism in Chapter 2. We spent a lot of time trying to wrap our brains around why James considered it such a serious offense. James told us if we show favoritism to others than we have broken the royal law and are just like those that murder and commit adultery. That’s hard. How can that be?
James views favoritism as a decision that we make that separates one from another. The definition of sin is anything that separates us from God. When murder is committed, there is separation, when adultery is committed there is separation, when _______________ is committed there is separation, (you fill in the blank). So, if we are Christ followers and we place ourselves in a position to value one person over another, then we are not following the royal law, which says to love God first and to love your neighbor as yourself. When we reject a person or treat them as less, we are creating a separation between that person and God. This is the greatest offense to God. This is why it’s so serious. Our actions and words could be the very thing that either draws people to Christ or pushes them away. God always has an eternal perspective and our eternity is priority for Him!
For women, showing favoritism can be a real issue. We love our inner circles and we love our cliques because they provide a safe place of comfort for us, we like to be with people that are like us, that’s human nature. We just can’t show favor at other’s expense. Do we need our inner circles? absolutely, and we are very blessed when we find a close friend. God never intends to give us a friend so that we can leave another friend out. That’s not who He is. James is very clear, 13 verses clear, on this.
