James 2:9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Showing partiality is a sin. Why? Simply because it violates the law of love. Believers must live above the letter of the law. We do not get caught up in the whether we are obeying the individual laws of the Bible. That leads to the slippery slow of legalism. There are too many people who see the Bible or Christianity as a check list of do’s and don’ts. This makes the law a heavy burden to bear. It leads to a yoke of slavery. The law of love incorporates all other laws and is the highest law of all. Showing partiality or favoritism puts conditions on love. If we put conditions on our love, we are in essence not following the law of love. James’ logic is relatively clear once we begin to understand the how love is the essence of the law. We attempt to find other words to define partiality to soften what we do. We might say, I am just being “discerning” of people’s character. Or, we might say, That puts me out of my comfort zone. Whatever excuse we come up with must be carefully assessed lest we harbor the sin of partial love within our hearts.
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