Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Favoritism (02/28/05)
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TITLE: Favorites or Favoritism | Previous Challenge Entry
By Paul Mobley
03/04/05 -
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It can creep into group relationships without anyone being conscious of it until someone awakens, or senses harm, and complains. And one complaint should alert a group and cause it to self-examine their behavior.
So what is favoritism ? Defining it must also look at favorites. All of us have them: favorite foods, favorite clothes, and favorite acquaintances and friends. Having favorites is not wrong until the interactions patronizes one to the neglect of others in your group. It has then become favoritism. All persons in a group should be treated equally in all areas of the groups interests, activities, and information. When a person treats all in a group equally, that person is interacting without favoritism.
When a person patronizes one or more in a group to the neglect of others in a group, then favoritism is present. It has reared its ugly head, and the group will suffer, as will the one ignored.
A dictionary description goes like this for favoritism: the disposition to patronize favorites, or to promote the interest of a person or persons to the neglect of others having equal claims. Synonyms include: intolerance, un-forbearance, bias, lack of interest, partisanism, preference, nepotism, preferential treatment, and partiality.
Texas Instruments in their article Number 295 to employees, states that favoritism can destroy relationships, initiative, and trust. Both individually, and the group, may suffer from these negative mind sets, and cause those neglected or harmed to perform at less than their best. The whole group then suffers. Note also that a search for favoritism through Google gave 416,000 pages, surely indicating that favoritism is unliked and unwanted.
What does the Bible say ? In Genesis 37:3-4 we see Israel favoring his son Joseph over Joseph's siblings. The siblings became upset and sold Joseph into slavery.
Malachi 2:9 tells us that God hates partial acceptance, obedience and thus performance of His law.
Acts 10:34 reveals that the Apostle Peter realized that God is not a respecter of persons. The apostle Paul repeats that position in Romans 2:11.
James deals with it in verses 2:1-4 for a seemingly insignificant act where the group, the church, or parts of it favor a person in fine clothes wearing a gold ring.
Isn't it reasonable to then conclude that God and Christ do not like favoritism.
The church, the local congregation, can experience favoritism in a number of ways. Leaders especially, but all can ask needed questions, such as: Are some members written off as too old, too young, physically incapable, and not included in activities ? Should the local congregation be one family, and not divided into permanent sub-groups, such as family groups ? Shouldn't there be a thought out list of work needed by that congregation, and all members, invited, urged, and helped to get there when needed, to perform whatever they may be capable of doing ? And is it reasonable to have a dinner, a formal get together of a few, and parts or the remainder of the congregation excluded ?
It is admittedly difficult to purge it all for favoritism can slip in, and be unintentional. Any group of two or more should be alert to it and purge it.
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