Do Not Show Partiality

We have to translate faith in a practical act of love, which makes us love everyone without partiality or bias.

The Epistle of St. James (PDF), by Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

James 2: 1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

James addresses all believers as “brethren.” He does not differentiate one from another. The great one requires the little, as the small one requires the great.

From St. Clement of Rome:

“Hence each one submits to the other according to his own gift, so the strong has to care for the weak, and the weak has to respect the strong. The rich sustains the poor, and the poor thanks God for providing for him. The wise does not show his wisdom in words but in good deeds.”

Each shows an act of love to the other.

2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”

Note that James is not speaking of a rich man, at least not directly; at least the point isn’t the wealth of the man. Instead, he is speaking of one who is concerned of outward appearance, even showing off. Call it pride. He is distinguishing here the spirit of partiality based on appearance.

Of course, we know elsewhere that distinguishing rich from poor is also to show partiality.

From St. Ambrose:

“What benefit do you gain from being partial to the rich? Is it because you expect that he will repay you back? We have to think more of the weak and the needy, for because of them, we expect the reward from the Lord Jesus, like the parable of the wedding banquet (Luke 14:12,13). The Lord Jesus gave us a general picture of virtue, by telling us to generously give to those who have no ability to give back.”

From St. Augustine:

“Far from me is the notion that in Your tabernacle, Lord, the rich should be more highly regarded than the poor, or the noble than the less wellborn.”

When we do not keep such a notion far from us, we have become judges – and James describes the thoughts of such judges as evil:

4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

James follows by explaining clearly God’s purpose in choosing the poor, again by reminding us that he is speaking to “brethren,” all equal in one body of Christ:

5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

God does not distinguish based on our appearance or based on our riches or lack thereof. Yet He gives special attention to the poor due to their humiliation. He considers every insult directed at them as if these are directed to Him…which, in reality, they were, as they were directed to His Son, Jesus Christ.

From St. John Chrysostom:

“Many rebuke me saying that I am very strict with the rich people. Truly, you have said, but I am strict with the rich people who use money as a term of abuse. I do not attack them personally, but I attack their greediness. Being rich is one thing, and being greedy is another thing.”

The rich are God’s children just as the poor are. It isn’t the matter of being rich that is the issue. Malaty understands that what Chrysostom means by “greedy” is more like covetousness. In other words, too much in riches is never enough. Further, when the rich develop ways to exploit others in order to increase their riches, this is abuse. This, as we know, is an ever present and ongoing condition of many of the rich.

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

We always come back to what Jesus taught as the greatest law, and the second like unto it: love God, love your neighbor. By loving our neighbor, we show our love for God.

10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

No, not all sins are the same. But the wages of sin (that is, being a sinner) is death.

Conclusion

12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

From St. Basil the Great:

“Because you do not have mercy on others, then He will not have mercy on you.”

I always think of such admonishments the other way around: if we do not show mercy, it means we have not yet received God’s mercy. Our showing mercy is evidence of the mercy God has bestowed on us already.