Articles
No Partiality - Part 2
In the previous article, we observed the many times in the Bible that God is declared to be impartial. Sometimes this was good news – such as in offering salvation to anyone from any nation who fears God. Most of the time, however, this was a warning against judgment. No one is above God’s judgment.
Since God is impartial, it should not be surprising that His followers are also to be impartial. This was established in the Law of Moses, “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly” (Lev. 19:15). Moses reminded the people of this law in his farewell address, “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike” (Deut. 1:17). Hundreds of years later, a prophet would warn king Jehoshaphat, “be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe” (II Chron. 19:7).
When we think of impartiality, we naturally think a command against racism. God’s people should recognize that God created all nations from one man (Acts 17:26) and therefore the words of the United States declaration of independence should ring true to our ears. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” Just as God shows no partiality in allowing anyone from any nation who fears Him to be saved, we should not look down or mistreat any particular ethnicity.
However, you might have noticed that racism is not the primary focus when we are warned against partiality. Most often, it is an issue of economic bias. This was the case in Leviticus 19:15 and likely in Deuteronomy 1:17 as well. When James commands you not to “hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism” (Jam. 2:1) he uses the example of a rich person and a poor person walking into our assembly (Jam. 2:2-3). While racism might be more associated with hate, this form of partiality is focused more on unbalanced treatment. If we dismiss the poor man as being insignificant but “pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes” (Jam. 2:3) then we have shown partiality without necessarily feeling hate in our hearts. No, it isn’t hate in our hearts, but it isn’t love either. It is selfishness and partiality that is keeping us from loving our neighbor as ourselves (Jam. 2:8). “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (Jam. 2:9).
Observe how Paul emphasizes the seriousness of this command. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality” (I Tim. 5:21). For Timothy, this would have applied to appointing elders and to how he received accusations against elders (I Tim. 5:19-20,22). For others, this principle is applied to how we treat those whom we have power over. “And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him” (Eph. 6:9).
It is easy for partiality to infect us, even for those who don’t have a racist bone in their body. As a result, we must all be on guard against every form of favoritism. God shows no partiality. Neither should His followers.
