Partiality
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James 2:1-5 says, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. [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? [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 addresses the problem of partiality in this passage. When a Christian treats someone better simply because they have money it is not what God wants. This is especially true when it comes to how churches as a whole treat people. When churches bend over backward to keep the rich happy and ignore the poor then they are not doing as God has commanded. Like James says, many times it is the poor of this world who are the most rich in faith.
