Beyond Favoritism

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. –James 2:1

I’m quite a bit behind in the study due to illness that made its way through our house. (Doesn’t it always with small children?) And with a sudden need to purchase a new vehicle, which took up all my free time outside of work and caring for family.

As a result, I just reached the day’s lesson that talks about about treating everyone equally and not showing favoritism. This message seems particularly meaningful and applicable at this time. With the recent school shooting tragedy in Ohio, media attention is once more focused on bullying. Was the shooter a bullied outsider, as some have said? It’s true that even if he was, that is not an excuse for what he did. He’s still responsible for his own actions.

However, an event like this should make each of us stop and consider:
Are we actively doing anything to prevent tragedies born of resentment and loneliness from happening in our own neighborhood? Have we taught our children that God created everyone and loves them…and then taught our children to love like He loves? Have we taught our children that to have a friend, you must be a friend? And to treat others like we want to be treated? If we have, then there’s no reason for someone to say of a child in one of our schools “Oh, he doesn’t have any friends.”

As adults, do we actively seek out people who need our help and who need our friendship? Do we sit visit with the same people at work every day and ignore others? Do we make everyone we come in contact with, whether it’s a waitress or our boss or a bus driver or a celebrity, feel equally like they are special in our eyes? There are some simple things we can do, like greeting someone who is walking alone, that might be a small thing to us…and make a huge difference to them. We should apply such means of showing people that we love them, whether small things or large, equally and without regards to looks, race, or whether they may ever be able to return the favor, as we teach our children to do the same.