KEEP ON SERVING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER - No Place for Partiality

No Place for Partiality

As Christians, we are grateful for the multilingual cooperation that exists among us.  Although we preach the good news of the Kingdom in many human languages, we are serving God in unity. (Psalm 133:1) This is possible because, wherever we live on earth, we speak one pure language to Jehovah's praise.

There must be no partiality among God's people.  The apostle Peter made that clear when he preached at the home of the Gentile army officer Cornelius in 36 C.E. and was moved to say:  "For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him."  (Acts 10:34, 35)  Since that is true, the Christian congregation is no place for partiality, cliques, or favoritism.

Regarding her visit to the Kingdom Hall, one college student said:  "Usually, churches draw in numbers of a certain race or ethnic group. . . .Jehovah's Witnesses were all sitting together and not in certain cliques."  However, some members of the congregation in ancient Corinth were creating factions.  By thus causing dissension, they were opposing the operation of God's holy spirit, for it promotes unity and peace.  (Galatians 5:22) If we were to foster cliques in the congregation, we would be working against the leadings of the spirit.  Therefore, let us bear in mind the apostle Paul's words to the Corinthians:  "I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that  you maybe fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought."  (1 Corinthians 1:10)  Paul also stressed unity in his letter to the Ephesians. -Ephesians 4:1-6, 16.

Impartiality has always been required of Christians.  (Romans 2:11) Because some in the first-century congregation were showing favoritism toward wealthy individuals, the disciple James  wrote:  "My brothers,m you are not holding the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, our glory, with acts of favoritism are you?  For, if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in splendid clothing enters into a gathers of you, but a poor man in filthy clothing also enters, yet you look with favor upon the one wearing the splendid  clothing say: 'You take this seat here in a fine place,'  and you say to the poor one:  'You keep standing,' or: 'Take that seat there under my footstool,' you have class distinctions among yourselves and you have become judges rendering wicked decisions, is that not so?" -James 2:1-4.
If rich unbelievers with gold rings and splendid garments came to a Christian meeting as well as poor unbelievers in filthy clothing, the wealthy got special treatment.  They were given seats "in a fine place," while the poor were told to stand or to sit on the floor at someone's feet.  But God impartially provided Jesus' ransom sacrifice for rich and poor alike.  (Job 34:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14) So if we are going to please Jehovah and serve him shoulder to shoulder, we must not show favoritism or 'admire personalities for our own benefit.' -Jude 4, 16.

Next time: KEEP ON SERVING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER - Keep Free From Murmuring

The Watchtower, 2002