Articles
Let Me Not Show Partiality
After Job and His friends had their say about the things that had happened to Job, Elihu stepped up to speak, angered by Job's insistence on justifying himself (Job 32:1, 2). Elihu made it clear he was not going to mince words and would not hold back, saying plainly, “Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone; nor let me flatter any man” (Job 32:21). Elihu kept his word and fulfilled his stated desire in that he did not hold back as he rebuked Job and argued for the righteousness of God and the fact God did not have to answer for Himself.
But that stated desire of Elihu to not show partiality is one that should reach far beyond the immediate situation of answering Job and his friends; that should be our desire in every aspect of our lives. As disciples who strive to be more like the Father every day, this is something to which we must attain, and then maintain, for God “shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34), and, again, “there is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11). If we are truly striving to be like Him, then we must endeavor to show no partiality in any aspect of our lives. Let's consider just a few areas of our lives where this must be true.
Our General Attitude Toward Others. Since God shows no partiality, then we must show no partiality, and that must extend to our general attitude toward others and in how we treat our fellow man. Even under the Old Law, God's people were told, “One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you” (Exod. 12:49); in other words, all were to be treated the same, and expectations were the same.
The general attitude of impartiality towards all makes sense when we consider that God “so loved the world” (John 3:16), and, “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). Since God “desires all men to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4) and is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Pet. 3:9), then it would only make sense that His people would have the same love for everyone, too.
The command God gave to His people to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18) was not fully understood, interpreted, or applied, however, for some Jews felt that meant only the neighbor that looked like them, lived where they lived, and who was of the same lineage. When the lawyer came to Jesus, asking what he had to do to inherit eternal life, and when Jesus turned the question back to him as to his reading of the law, the man noted love of God and loving one's neighbor; but the man, after Jesus approved of the answer, sought to justify himself and asked, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-29). It is then that Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, to illustrate the necessity of loving all men — which was God's original intent (Luke 10:30-37).
All of this is said to emphasize the need for us to have a general attitude of impartiality in how we treat our fellow man — regardless of how different he may be than us. God loved all and Christ died for all, so we must love all — with love being a description of how we actively treat all others. [Love is not just a lack of hate, but positive action for the benefit of others.]
It is lamentable that I even have to say this today, but this equality of treatment must continue inside the body of believers, too. Far too many times, old prejudices have been carried over from the worldly ways and worldly days into the body of believers, and some are not treated as equals due to skin color or nationality or gender, and the Lord's name is reproached because of such prejudices. Brethren, “you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26-28). Some brethren act as if this passage is nowhere to be found in their Bibles, and such reprehensible behavior must cease. We are brethren!
Spreading The Gospel Message. James admonishes us, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (Jas. 2:1). While we may certainly apply this to how we treat the word of God itself, that is not the meaning in the immediate context. He would go on to give an illustration of two men coming into the assembly, one with gold rings and fine clothing, and the other man wearing filthy clothing; he would use this disparity of outward appearances to show that disciples must not show partiality in how we treat others (Jas. 2:1-9), but frames the contention for impartiality in terms of how we “hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ”; in other words; one who is a believer must demonstrate impartiality as an inherent attribute of one's faith.
That would necessarily extend to the matter of disciples taking the word of God [the faith] to others. As disciples, we know that God loved all and Christ died for all, so it only follows that we should be taking the message of God's plan for our salvation to all, and not holding it back from some due to our lack of impartiality. We cannot take it only to those who look like us, speak the same language we do, have the same skin color, or who happen to have been born in the same country, state, city, or even neighborhood. We must take the message of salvation out to all because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) and, thus, all are in need of hearing it.
In Judgments. Equality in judgments was something God has always demanded; under the Old Law, God commanded, “You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute” (Exod. 23:3), and, “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s” (Deut. 1:17). That last one should cause us to make judgments all the more carefully for, as was stated, it is not just our judgments; it is God's judgments. They, as God's people, were to judge as if God Himself were doing the judging. And, since “there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes” (2 Chron. 19:7), neither can there be any of those things in the judgments of His people. Do we think He requires anything less for His people today? Certainly not!
Paul's admonition to Timothy was this: “I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality” (1 Tim. 5:21). Nothing! It doesn't matter if the situation involves the richest man on earth, or the poorest; it doesn't matter if the man is the most powerful in the world, or one with no power at all; judgments must be made with complete impartiality. We must show no favoritism to the rich, nor can we show favoritism to the poor; we must not show favoritism to strangers or blood relations; judgments must be made with complete impartiality. As difficult as it may be to exercise discipline within the Lord's church, impartiality must be the rule in all cases, else it is no longer God's judgment.
James said it plainly, and his words are still true: “if you show partiality, you commit sin” (Jas. 2:9). Partiality should have no place in our lives. Let us make sure we love others as God loved us; let us make sure we take the gospel to all men; let us judge with God's judgment. —— Steven Harper
