The Sin of Partiality

2 My fellow believers, do not practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of partiality [toward people—show no favoritism, no prejudice, no snobbery]. ² For if a man comes into your ^[a]meeting place ^[b]wearing a gold ring and ^[c]fine clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and you pay special attention to the one who wears the ^[d]fine clothes, and say to him, “You sit here in this good seat,” and you tell the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law? ⁷ Do they not blaspheme the ^[e]precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?

⁸ If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]” you are doing well.^{(A) 9} But if you show partiality [prejudice, favoritism], you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as offenders. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of [breaking] all of it. ¹¹ For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you have become ^[f]guilty of transgressing the [entire] Law.^{(B) 12} Speak and act [consistently] as people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty [that moral law that frees obedient Christians from the bondage of sin]. ¹³ For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.