Why Favoritism In Church Is a Sin Many Pastors Ignore – James 2:1-13

Let’s talk about the sin that most pastors happily commit. They aren’t hiding it. Some even celebrate it. I’ve seen it while serving in many churches across the country. But to understand why it happens, I need to tell you about an experiment I ran at a local coffee shop. 

Years ago, when I was writing my first book, I would drop my son off at preschool and find a nearby coffee shop to work in while I waited to pick him up. 

I was deep in writing mode, my mind was clouded, and all I could focus on was the next word on the page. So I dressed comfortably: a wrinkled shirt, sweatpants, a hat, and glasses. Basically, I looked like a slob, and I didn’t care because I was deep down the writer’s rabbit hole and needed to get the first draft done. 

And it was kind of nice because people barely seemed to notice me. I could get in, get my drink, and work invisibly in the corner. 

But one day, I noticed something interesting. I ordered my usual drink and got barely any interaction other than a “Sup bro?”, a few nods, and some grunts. But the guy behind me, a well-dressed man in a suit, got a completely different reaction from the guy behind the counter. He received a warm greeting, some basic chit-chat, and a “Have a great day!”  

Why wasn’t I treated that way?

So the next day I tried an experiment. I wore a tucked-in dress shirt and slacks with a nice watch. And wow! It was a night-and-day difference. I noticed that people were more friendly, called me “sir”, and instead of calling my name to get my drink, they brought it to me. 

I continued this experiment, and within a week, the baristas were remembering my name and order. It was like before I dressed well, I was nothing, but suddenly I was a VIP. People walking in the shop were even more likely to smile at me, rather than look at me and quickly look away. Strange. I was the same guy drinking the same latte in the same corner, just wearing different clothes. 

I learned something valuable about human nature from this: people judge you by your appearance. 

I know. Revolutionary information!

But it’s real. And it’s powerful. If you look like you are successful and wealthy, you are more likely to be given the royal treatment. 

It’s harmless in a coffee shop, but it’s a problem in the church.

This is the sin that most pastors happily commit: favoritism in church. Most laugh it off or don’t think twice about it. But it’s a bigger problem than many realize. 

I’ve been a pastor for nearly two decades, in multiple churches of all shapes and sizes across the country. And I have seen this problem firsthand.

Wealthy church members can get VIP treatment, extra influence in the church, a seat on the board, their names on buildings, and more face time with the pastor, just because they are big givers. Some churches, when raising funds for a building project or another initiative, will even hold VIP dinners and invite only the wealthiest members to enjoy a 5-star meal at the church’s expense.

When someone with wealth or status, such as a professional athlete, shows up, it’s not uncommon for a pastor to give them special attention and pull out all the stops to secure their church membership. But do we treat the homeless person who comes in off the street the same way? 

Special treatment and VIP donor development make sense from a business perspective, but the church is more than a business. What does the Bible say?

What James 2 Says About Favoritism in the Church

Today, we’re in James 2, where James takes this problem straight on. 

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory (James 2:1, ESV).

The Greek word for “partiality” literally means to “receive the face,” which means to make a judgment based on external appearance.

Jesus, the Lord of glory, did not show partiality, and neither should his followers. There is no place for partiality in the church. Christianity is incompatible with partiality. Everyone is equal before God.

This could apply to judging anyone based on appearance, wealth, social status, age, gender, beauty, country of origin, or race.

But James next gives a specific example applied to partiality based on wealth. And he asks four rhetorical questions, whose obvious answers are yes. 

² For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, ³ and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” ⁴ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:2-4)

James doesn’t come right out and say that the man is rich. He only mentions his “fine clothing” and “gold ring”. But we all immediately assume that means he’s rich. But it’s fascinating that James just mentions his appearance and lets us assume he’s rich. In a sense, we are already judging. 

Here’s the first question: Have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? And the answer is an obvious yes. If you treat people differently based on their appearance, you have judged them. And you have judged them unjustly because it is only based on their appearance, and nothing more. 

If you see a rich businessman attending your church as more valuable than a poor single mother,  this is evil thinking. And that is convicting, because if we’re honest, most of us are tempted to do the same. 

And here’s the second question:

⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? (James 2:5)

Why is it wrong to treat the poor differently? Because God has chosen them as heirs of the kingdom. God has selected the poor to be heirs of his kingdom by faith in him. God does not choose us based on any merit or worldly status we have attained. It is only by his grace and mercy.

Remember, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25).  

This doesn’t mean the rich can’t also inherit the kingdom, but it’s harder for them. Those who are wealthy are more likely to be proud and to rely on their accomplishments or charitable giving. The poor are far more likely to be humble to receive God’s grace and mercy because they have nothing else.

I’ve seen it. I’ve worked in churches in wealthy areas, and it was some of the hardest ministry because the people didn’t need anything. Or so they thought. And when I worked in less wealthy areas, I saw the shift in humility and complete dependence on God to provide.

So when we treat the poor as lesser-class citizens in the church, we are dishonoring God’s chosen heirs. And that’s a problem.

Here are the third and fourth questions, which are combined:

⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? (James 2:6-7)

Why are Christians so quick to try to copy the standards of the culture that oppresses us? 

In the first century church, the rich in the world were the ones oppressing Christians, persecuting the church, and blaspheming the name of Jesus.

The greatest growth in the early church was among the poor, not the rich. 

Why does the church show favor and try to copy the standards of the culture that is oppressing the church? Yet we are drawn to it still.

I wonder why we are always trying to prop up the latest celebrity who converted to Christianity so we can gain status in the eyes of the culture, like when Kanye said he was a Christian, came out with a gospel album, and was instantly given a platform to perform and preach in churches across the country. That didn’t age well, did it?

We need to pump the brakes on treating people differently just because of their worldly status. That’s sinful and wrong. The church should not follow worldly ways, but so many still do. It’s an alluring temptation for pastors that they might gain worldly influence and wealth because so-and-so goes to your church.

Let’s stop trying to be like the culture that is against us.

But James isn’t finished yet. In the next few verses, he gets to the heart of the matter: Partiality is a sin.

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:8-13)

If you judge people in the church and treat them worse than others because of their appearance, you have broken the great commandment (the royal law). That is not loving your neighbor as yourself. You would want to be valued just as much as the rich person. 

And James destroys anyone who tries to laugh this off as just a little sin. Why? Because if you break one law, you are guilty of breaking all of it. 

How many laws do you have to break before you are a lawbreaker? Just one. If you break one law, you’ve broken the law (it isn’t in parts, but a whole). The law must be kept in its entirety for you to be innocent. Break one law, and you are a transgressor of the law. It’s like throwing a rock through a window.

You can’t think you are better than someone because you’ve only broken one law, like murder, but haven’t committed adultery (that doesn’t make you any more righteous). 

Some sins are worse than others and deserving of more severe punishment (John 19:11; Matt 11:21-22). That’s another topic for another time. However, all sins make us guilty of breaking the law.

So we should live (in the way we speak and act) with judgment in mind. We are now under the law of liberty, the freedom we have in Christ. Freedom from the bondage of sin and the burden of the law. But even if we claim to be believers, we will still be held accountable. And if we do not show mercy, why would we expect to receive it from God?

Look: I know I’ve been guilty of partiality. You probably have too. If partiality is a sin, and sin makes us lawbreakers, then we are all in trouble.

Thank God, James ends on a positive note: “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” This means that those who have mercy will be shown mercy by God. His mercy will triumph over the judgment we deserve.

I am guilty of breaking the law. I am deserving of judgment. But by the grace of God, he has shown mercy to me, and I am continuing to do my best to show that same mercy to every person who walks through the doors of my church.

How to Guard Your Heart Against Partiality

So what do we do with this? 

Examine your heart. Are you showing partiality?

Do you treat people differently because of the appearance of their social status, education, wealth, influence, skin color, cultural background, or whatever?

If a homeless person walks into your church, would you welcome them in and shake their hand just like you do everyone else? Would you invite them to sit next to you?

James’ message here is convicting to me. But my hope is that all Christians and churches would stop treating certain people like VIPs, because in God’s economy, all who humble themselves before him are VIPs. We are all equal. All created in the Image of God. And all deserving of honor and respect. 

This is the precedent that Jesus set when he stopped for children, widows, lepers, outcast sinners, prostitutes, and even wealthy tax collectors and Pharisees.

My brothers and sisters, let us show no partiality as we hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you ever felt like a second-class citizen in the church? Or have you seen the VIP treatment firsthand? Tell us your story in the comments.