The Sin of Favoritism

July 21st, 2026
by Lance Waldie

James 2:1-4 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

Having challenged his audience to be doers of the word and not just hearers (1:22), James addresses what appears to have been an issue in the early Church: favoritism to the rich while demeaning the poor. In the OT, God instructed Israel to act on His behalf by defending the cause of the orphan and widow (Deut. 10:17-18) and to not pervert justice or show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich (Lev. 19:15). Jesus Himself taught that one’s neighbor is one in need (Luke 10:30-37). Sadly, though many in the early Church claimed to be followers of Christ, some were deceived by their own hypocrisy (1:22-24), showing favoritism to the rich and demeaning the poor. Such people would be judged without mercy (2:13).

Since James viewed Jesus as “glorious” (Gr. doxa), he bristled at those who acted contrary to Christ. In the OT, glory was associated with God’s presence (1 Sam. 4:22), for He is the “God of glory” (Ps. 29:3), “the King of glory” (Ps. 24:7-10). This glorious God took on flesh, and John saw it (John 1:14). Paul thus called Jesus “the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8). Peter also, who witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration said, “For when [Jesus] received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’ ” (2 Pet. 1:17; cf. Rom. 9:4; Heb. 1:3). James thus calls Jesus “glorious,” seeing Him as the manifestation of God’s presence among humanity. Now although all of Christ’s followers, the Church, will inherit this glory in eternity (cf. Rom. 5:2; 8:18, 30; 2 Cor. 4:17), in the present we are no less responsible to reflect such glory. Yet the Church acts contrary to Christ’s glory in showing favoritism—defined here as “making unjust, outward distinctions between people by treating one person or group better than another.”

When James speaks of personal “favoritism” (Gr. prosōpolēmpsia), literally “receiving the face,” he’s referring to thoughts about people based on their outward appearance. Douglas Moo says, “The word was apparently invented by NT writers (cf. Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25) as a literal rendering of a Hebrew word for partiality.” The specific location as to where this sin was occurring was in “your assembly,” literally synagogue—the Jewish place of fellowship outside the Jerusalem Temple. But since James qualifies this location as “your assembly,” and since the word itself simply means “gathering,” he is certainly referring to the place where first century Jewish Christians met for fellowship, worship, and teaching (cf. Acts 2:42), namely their church.

Clearly the early Church gatherings were attracting people from all walks of life. But contrary to Christ’s example, those with gold rings and fine clothes (cf. Acts 10:30; Rev. 15:6) were being favored and receiving special attention over those who were poor and who wore shabby clothing. While the rich were seated in the good places, the poor were either left standing or seated on the ground. Upon hearing this, James rebukes his audience, accusing them of making evil distinctions between people, belittling one under another. These judgments caused them to assume the role of wicked judges with evil thoughts. In 4:11-12, James likewise condemns those who speak against other Christians who take upon themselves the rights of a judge that only God can rightfully employ. Clearly James warns that God has not called the Church to judge the socioeconomic status of its members; all are one in Christ (cf. Gal. 3:28).

Food For Thought
Although God does not play favorites, He has indeed been known to give special attention to certain ones—from Abraham to Israel to Daniel to the virgin Mary whom God paid special attention to due to her low social status and high moral character (Luke 1:48-50). James therefore is not instructing the Church to treat everyone equally. It is perfectly acceptable to honor those exceptionally faithful servants in the church who are particularly helpful. Whereas we tend to judge by outward appearances, God sees the heart of man (1 Sam. 16:7). We are to thus avoid outward judgments while highly appreciating inward character.