"If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors."
Partiality within the body of Christ is intolerable, but what is even more concerning is the level of self-protection that fuels partiality. Self-protection is self-serving and caters to its own desires. It manipulates its environment in order to ensure that self is deemed most important, even if that requires making decisions that include showing favoritism.
The theme James uses to illustrate his point echoes Old Testament law of loving one's neighbor as one would themselves. For who could say they are unfamiliar with what it means to yield to the flesh? We all do, so it is an easy teaching point for us to identify with.
I wonder if we ever look at the topic of favoritism in this light though. Are we too consumed with our own hectic lives to understand how much we put ourselves before others? Are we too busy to bother with needy people at all? Are we helping only those who benefit us by choosing the rich over the poor? Or when we do make an effort to help others, are we negotiating with God to provide a return on investment for our time, energy and resources?
The main point is that when Scripture calls us to act, we must respond with no expectations but a willingness for God to elevate our awareness of the needs of others. For meeting needs must never be self-serving or partial to any economic group, but an act of the Holy Spirit working through for God's glory, not our own. Only then will we dispel partiality from our hearts, and only then will we see that self-protection undermines the call to obedient application of Scripture.
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