–– Paul Schlehlein
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These days, it seems the word “bigotry” could be applied to almost any behaviour. Criticise a Zulu’s English and you’ll be accused of racism. Complement that same Zulu’s English and you’ll be charged with implying that other Zulus can’t speak English well.
To be sure, Scripture is opposed to every form of prejudice, racism, and bigotry. But it is important to properly define these sinful behaviours. Favouritism is the unfair treatment of certain people. It refers to preferential actions toward one group over another for no good reason.
But does this mean we treat everyone the same? And isn’t it true that the world seems to call everything racism these days? How do I avoid jealousy of other groups unlike mine, and how do I navigate the idea of prejudice in a way that honours God?
Here are four principles.
First, the blessings that God bestows on His creatures will differ widely based on his sovereign pleasure. He makes some tall and others short; some drop-dead gorgeous and others plain as a pikestaff. In doing this, God isn’t showing favouritism because He isn’t giving unfair preferential treatment to one group over another. The key word here is “unfair”. His creatures do not deserve any of His gifts, so when He pours out beauty, brains, and brawn on some and not others, we call this grace, not bigotry.
God made Wayde van Niekerk fast and Tatjana Schoenmaker nimble, both South African world record holders in their respective fields of running and swimming. God gave Mariam Nabatanzi, sometimes known as Mama Uganda, forty-four children, while millions of women worldwide endure infertility.
God created Nick Vujicic with no arms and no legs. We shouldn’t acknowledge this sheepishly, as though we’re embarrassed the Creator of the universe mixed up the formula. Exodus 4:11 gave us the recipe long ago. “Who makes [man] mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” And yet this same God gave big biceps to Rayno Nel, the South African winner of the World’s Strongest Man, who can stack 200 kg boulders like they’re marshmallows. Is God a bigot? No, He simply spreads out his blessings however He pleases.
God was good when he made Dr. Kachinga Sichizya, a Zambian doctor who is skilled in pediatric neurosurgery. God was also good when he made some of Sichizya’s Zambian countrymen with brains that couldn’t pass the first grade. This is because, according to Matthew 25, God in his sovereignty bestows five bags of silver to some and just one bag to others. The proper response is not the victim mindset. It’s not blaming God for giving two parents to my neighbour and only a single mom to me. It’s trust that God can do as He pleases (Ps. 115:3), and then responding to that by living a faithful life.
Second, investing ample time and money in close relationships over others isn’t prejudiced but commendable. The government of Namibia isn’t prejudiced when it uses all of its funds for Namibians and not the poor from Sri Lanka. And when the USA stops sending money to the poor in Rwanda so it can pay off its own debts, this isn’t favouritism, it’s common sense.
It’s also biblical. Galatians 6:10 says that Christians should give especially to other Christians. They get the priority. First Timothy 5:8 says: “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially their own household, has denied the faith.” This means that Mr. Baloyi should buy shoes and socks for his son before buying shoes and socks for his neighbour. If we insist on calling this favouritism, it’s the kind of favouritism that God loves.
Third, avoid showing favouritism to certain classes of people. Unjust preferential treatment always causes division, and Scripture warns against it in a host of categories. Don’t favour one child over another, like Isaac did with his sons and Jacob did with Joseph (Gn. 37:3-4). Don’t favour the rich by giving them the best seats (Jms. 2:1-4) but also don’t favour the poor by overlooking their faults (Lv. 19:15). Don’t favour the wicked (Ps. 82:2). And don’t favour certain races, like Haman in seeking to snuff out the Jews (Est. 3:8-14). This is the kind of favouritism that God hates.
Finally, remember that salvation comes the same way, regardless of status, gender, or race. In some ways, genders, skills, and races are very different from each other. For example, Olympic marathon runners usually come from Kenya, and we shouldn’t expect gold medalists from Samoa any time soon. One group of runners is simply better than the other.
But when it comes to redemption from sin, there is no terraced platform like at the Olympic games. At the foot of the cross, we all stand on equal ground. The Chinaman is just as depraved as the Alaskan Eskimo and the blonde-haired Norwegian architect needs the blood of Jesus as badly as the Nigerian farmer. This is what Galatians 3:28 means when it says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Sum
The church can avoid many errors when it remembers these four principles. The mnemonic B-I-A-S may help us recall them: B: Blessings from God differ, I: Investing more in close relationships is normal and right, A: avoid unjust favouritism toward certain groups of people, S: salvation comes to everyone the same way, through faith in Jesus Christ.