Favoritism is showing an unfair bias or partiality for one person or people group over another, even when they have equal claims. The Bible makes it clear that God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11). Since all human beings were created in His image, neither should we practice favoritism. Rather, the Bible instructs us to "show no partiality" (James 2:1). It is human nature to judge and treat people differently based on their likeness to or difference from us. However, we need to see people the way God sees them, equally valued and loved regardless of appearance, status, or abilities. He calls us to love others the same.
God has created all people equal in worth. A person's physical appearance, gender, possessions, skills, intelligence level, or even religious affiliation do not determine his/her value. However, that does not mean that everyone is treated the exact same way. This does not mean that we are using favoritism. For example, it is not “favoritism” to give your child more of your time than you give a random stranger. It’s also not “favoritism” for a member of a group to be given a vote and a non-member of that group to have no say, etc. When it comes to God, choosing Israel, Jesus’ having three disciples with whom He was closer, and God loving believers differently than unbelievers is not favoritism. Equality and equity are not the same. But treating people more favorably based on things like their ethnicity, social status, or wealth is wrong. Favoritism was a struggle in the early church and is still a struggle today. Showing partiality seems to come naturally to our fallen natures. We need to stay aware and be conscientious to keep ourselves in check about this issue. God has loved us and given us the right to be His children through Jesus Christ, which means we are to love others as He has loved us (1 John 4:7–11). We need to ask the Lord to help us to love and treat others as equally worthy image-bearers and without favoritism, showing them His love indiscriminately.