Webster’s Universal College Dictionary states that “favor is something done or granted out of good will, rather than from justice or for payment: a kind act.”
Favoritism is not new. It seems to me that it has been around since the beginning of time. In the Christian Old Testament and Jewish Bible, God showed favoritism toward the Israelite nation. At times, God allowed/encouraged Israel to kill everyone in other nations. Jacob showed favoritism toward his son, Joseph, over his other sons. This caused his brothers to seek to kill Joseph.
I could go on pointing to stories in the Old Testament and even in the New Testament about favoritism. For those Christians who believe in the “infallible Word of God” (infallible, without error or the inerrancy of scripture) these stories are to be taken at face value. There are others, like me, who believe that the Bible is truth about God and God’s people. It is good for teaching and study. Still others believe that there is an “elect” which God has chosen, which is cool if you are one of those selected.
I can see how easy it is for a “believer” to begin to think that he/she is special, favored by God. Groups and even nations have seemed to take on this kind of thinking over the years. In the eyes of many, heterosexuals are favored over those of the LGBTQ community, straight hair over nappy hair, men over women, tall people over short people, light skin over dark skin, being married over being single, and the list could go on. It is not hard to take this train of thought and decide that God favors one race of people or religion over another.
It then becomes easy to demonize others. When one feels favored, it becomes natural for him/her to feel special. “God has blessed me not to get sick,” without thinking that there is a system in place that allows me to have better medical care than some others around me. “God has blessed me with a new home or a new car” without thinking that there are some who have been redlined out of my community or a different standard was used to get a loan. It is easy to assume that I am a better learner or “I have a better education” rather than to assume that I was privileged because of race or some other factor. In addition, I am amazed at how much blame or credit is put on God when God may have little to do with it.
I do believe in God. I have hope that God can take something that humans have made evil and make something good out of it. Therefore, I try to let God handle what is God’s and take responsibility for what belongs to me. I urge people to take seriously what the sacred words of your faith have to offer. Study them and try to live by them. I am a Christian. I take seriously the Holy Bible in its several translations. When I go to the Bible/scripture, I take these three questions:
- What does the text literally say? What do I understand the verse or verses to say in the Bible?
- What is the background related to the text; to whom was it stated and why? I may have to go to other sources to find this out. I understand that there is a difference between scripture and commentary. I find that commentaries can differ greatly on the same text.
- What does it say to me? What it said to the people of God at another time/place may not be what God is saying to me/us today.
My reading of scripture does not allow me to feel favored by God, nor does it allow me to think that God has shown favoritism to others. In my reading of scripture, particularly the New Testament, Jesus attempts to move favoritism out and place justice in and consideration for all at the center. Passages like Luke 10:25-37, the Good Samaritan, or Matthew 26:31-46, the judgment, show that we are to care for all no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey.
When it comes to caring, my favorite person is you and you and you!
The Rev. Ervin E. Milton is pastor of Union Chapel United Church of Christ, Burlington. He can be contacted at eem5050@aol.com.
