Love Beyond Favoritism
James 2:8-9
8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[d] 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
I don’t know about you, but this whole verse stopped me in my tracks. When we hear the word sin, I think our minds sometimes immediately go to the obvious things like lying, addiction, sexual immorality, etc. But in our chapter today, James adds something else to that list: Favoritism. Treating some people as more valuable than others or more deserving of our help and grace. James takes it so seriously that he says that when we do this, ‘you are guilty of breaking the law.’ He’s talking about God’s perfect law, and a commandment, Jesus said, is one of the most important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: “Are you saying I have to give everyone I meet in my life the same kind of relationship I have with my best friends or family?”
“I have to like everybody in my life equally, with no boundaries? Even the crazy drivers on 45 who almost hit me going 90?”.
No, that’s not what I’m saying, because Jesus doesn’t tell us to do that.
But He does call us to love everyone. Stay with me.
Obviously, ‘love’ is a much stronger word than ‘like’. But just so you can see where I’m going with this, let's look at God's definition of love: “Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, doesn’t seek its own way…”
You’ve heard the Scripture in 1 Corinthians. It’s probably the most quoted at weddings, but it wasn’t written just for a nice reading at a ceremony. It's teaching us something about love, which is crucial for us as followers of Jesus, and I think will help us with our dilemma today of not showing favoritism.
Because God’s love is patient with people who test our patience.
His love is kind to people who aren’t always kind to us.
His love does not favor some people based on status, wealth, or background.
God’s love doesn’t only show up for the people we like or tolerate.
Application:
I want to be clear about what I’m talking about. Some people in life may be toxic or unhealthy for us to be around, and we should ask the Lord for his wisdom about who that is and how we can set healthy boundaries. Some people aren’t meant to be in our circle, and that's okay. Don’t feel guilty; you can still love from a safe distance.
Today, I’m talking about the people close to us we may have mislabeled, probably pre-judged, or overlooked. People we know we struggle to get along with, because, well, there could be a little bit of pride, selfishness, or unforgiveness in our hearts. God asks us to love all His children, and seeing them as His children helps us remember we are in that family, too.
Therefore, we can all give a little more grace, patience, and God’s love to everyone.
Prayer:
Father, forgive me if I have shown a little favoritism toward certain people in my life and overlooked others. You know who they are. Reveal it to me. Help me to love more like Jesus did, and in doing so, I honor you!