James asked the question, “How can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?” That statement in the Bible always makes me go, “Ouch!” It is saying if you really have faith in God, you will not be prejudice, discriminate, snob people off, or play favorites. God’s way is to love people, but that is hard for us. Who of us occasionally doesn’t make a judgment on another person purely on the basis of something on the outside? We oftentimes make stereotypes and lump people into groups: all poor people are lazy, all wealthy people are greedy, all overweight people are undisciplined, all Democrats are pagans, all Republicans are intolerant bigots. We reject people who don’t think, believe, act, and dress like us. We don’t know them; we just reject them. Who do you struggle with loving the most? In I Samuel 16:7, it reads, “People judge by outward appearances, but the Lord looks on the heart.” God does not play favorites. He loves people. He calls us to love people. God doesn’t love some people more than He loves other people. Every single person I meet everyday is potentially a brother or sister in Christ. I wonder what would happen in our lives and in this world if we treated every person as a brother or sister in Christ.
– Dr. Tim Thompson