Day 14 — No Favorites

“My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, ‘Here is a seat of honor,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You must stand’ or ‘Sit at my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

— James 2:1–4 (BSB)

Picture a lunchroom. At one table sit the girls everyone wants to be friends with. They’re laughing, and the seats around them are “saved” for certain people. Across the room, a new girl stands holding her tray, looking for somewhere to sit. When she gets close to the popular table, one of the girls puts her bag on the empty chair.

Have you ever seen something like that? Maybe you’ve been the girl with the tray. Maybe you’ve been the one with the bag on the chair.

James describes almost the same situation. Two people walk into church. One is rich and well-dressed, and everyone rushes to give him the best seat. The other is poor and wearing old clothes, and people tell him to stand in the back or sit on the floor.

James says that’s wrong. “Do not show favoritism.” Favoritism is treating some people better than others because of how they look, what they have or how popular they are.

Girls’ friend groups can sometimes turn into cliques, groups that are closed off to others. Being part of a group of friends isn’t bad at all! But when a group starts leaving people out on purpose, deciding who’s “in” and who’s “out,” or treating some girls as more important than others, that’s favoritism.

Why does God care so much? Because He doesn’t play favorites. He loves the girl with the designer clothes and the girl with the hand-me-downs exactly the same. And Jesus spent His time with people others ignored.

So how can you avoid favoritism?

• Notice who’s left out, and invite her in.
• Don’t “save” seats to keep people away.
• Be kind to everyone, not just the popular girls.
• Don’t judge girls by their clothes, their looks or their stuff.
• If your group is leaving someone out, be brave enough to change it.

Think about it: Have you ever been left out by a group? Have you ever been part of leaving someone else out?

Try this: Invite someone to sit with you, play with you or join your group this week, especially someone who usually isn’t included.

Dear God, thank You that You don’t play favorites. You love every girl the same. Help me never to leave someone out because of how she looks or what she has. Give me courage to include others, even when it’s not popular. In Jesus’ name, Amen.