Alan's Devotionals

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 some of the more obvious things, like lying or sexual immorality. 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 this so seriously that he says, when we show partiality or unfair bias, ‘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." That means everyone.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking: "Are you saying I have to give everyone in my life the same kind of relationship I have with my family or best friends?"
"I have to like everybody equally, with no boundaries?" No, that's not what I'm saying, but Jesus does say we have 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; doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, doesn't seek its own way…"

You've heard this Scripture in 1 Corinthians. It's the most quoted at weddings. It wasn't written just to be read at a ceremony. It's teaching us something about Love, which is crucial for you and me as followers of Jesus, and I think will help us with our dilemma today of showing favoritism.

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.

I want to be clear about something. Some people in life may be unhealthy or even toxic 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. You can still love from a safe distance.

Today, I'm talking about the people close to us that we may have mislabeled, probably pre-judged, or overlooked. People we know we struggle to get along with, because, well, there could probably be a little bit of pride, selfishness, or unforgiveness in our hearts. God asks us to love all His children without bias, and seeing them as His children reminds us that we are in that family, too.

We can all give a little more grace, patience, and God's Love to everyone.

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 to me where I can love more like Jesus did, and in doing so, I honor you!