James, the brother of Jesus, wrote at length about partiality. Perhaps this was partially influenced by intimately knowing Jesus, and how he went out of his way to minister to the poor, the lame, and the blind. Whatever the reason, James is clear: “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1 ESV). Then he gave an example of two people coming into the assembly; one wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and the other poor and wearing shabby clothing.
James says that it is wrong to put the rich man at a seat of honor while telling the poor man to “sit over there.” James went on to say: “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?” (vs. 5). But, in this example, the church chose the rich man who oppresses over the poor man who is an heir of the kindom.
He warns the Christians of walking a fine line to the point that he says, “If you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (vs. 9). Partiality is a sin, and the Lord’s church has no room for it. If the church is going to grow, we need to embrace people of all kinds of backgrounds and show hospitality. When we do this, we become the hands and the feet of Jesus!