Does God have favorites?

from the old testament

• God hates impartiality (Deuteronomy 1:17).
• God commanded the Israelites to love outsiders because He Himself shows no partiality (Deuteronomy 10:17–19). As His people, they were to reflect His justice by treating everyone fairly.
• God defends the vulnerable without perverting justice, judging each person fully and fairly, not based on status but on their actions (Deuteronomy 10:18; Ecclesiastes 12:14).
• We are called to judge impartially because justifying the wicked or condemning the righteous is an abomination to God (Proverbs 17:15). So, what we learn is that God does not show favoritism and is against those who do!
• While God does not have favorites, He does show favor to those who live for Him (Psalm 5:12; Psalm 84:11). “Favoritism” is showing preferential or unfair treatment to one group at the expense of another, while “favor” is showing approval or an act of undeserved kindness.
• Noah found favor with God because he was righteous in a corrupt world (Genesis 6:5–9), showing that while God doesn’t show favoritism, He does extend favor to those who live righteously.
• God also shows favor by choosing individuals for special roles, like Solomon, whom He gifted with wisdom and riches (1 Kings 3:12–13). Yet even this favor was conditional—Solomon had to walk in God’s ways to continue receiving it (1 Kings 3:14).
• Solomon’s disobedience turned his heart from God, leading to God’s judgment and the loss of his kingdom (1 Kings 11:9–11). God’s favor does not exempt even His chosen ones from accountability—He expects righteousness.

from the new testament

• God repeats that He stands against those who show favoritism in the New Testament (James 2:1–9). Showing favoritism (“partiality”) is sin.
• In Romans, Paul emphasizes that God shows no partiality—both Jews and Greeks are judged or rewarded based on their actions, not ethnicity (Romans 2:9–11). Sin is punished, and righteousness is honored equally for all.
• Paul teaches in Colossians 4:1 that masters must treat their slaves with justice and fairness, knowing they also serve a Master in heaven. This reminds us that God, who shows no favoritism, expects those under His authority to reflect His impartiality.
• Peter teaches that God judges impartially without favoritism, so we should live in reverent fear, knowing all our actions will be fairly judged (1 Peter 1:17). Not only does God not show favoritism, but He expects believers to act the same way.
• God’s main favor is shown by sending His Son to die for all people (John 3:16). Though God is just and must punish sin, He satisfied justice by punishing Jesus instead (Romans 3:25–26), offering favor to repentant sinners who trust Him. Those justified through Jesus are called God’s children (Romans 8:14–17; Galatians 3:26)—not by favoritism, but because Jesus paid their penalty while God’s standards remain unchanged.
• Though believers are God’s children, that doesn’t excuse them from discipline. When believers sin, though the ultimate penalty was already paid by Jesus, God still disciplines them to grow to be more like Him (Hebrews 12:4–11).

implications for today

We live in a world where justice is continuously being perverted. In particular, people of specific ethnic groups, social standing, and even gender are being judged differently based on who they are rather than what they have done. Sometimes this favoritism is subtle, but more and more, it’s overt in our society. God finds this kind of favoritism wicked (James 2:9).

Knowing this, believers need to take great care that we don’t show favoritism like the world. We do this first by remembering that we are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27). That means every human is of infinite worth to God. Showing partiality towards one person inevitably means treating those whom God created equal, as unequal.

Second, we need to remember that Jesus came for all types of people (John 3:16). Any partiality on our part is not Christlike (James 2:1).

Third, if we show partiality as we interact with other believers, we are saying that Jesus is not the Lord of all of us. Jesus said that the world will know us by our love for one another (John 13:35). When we are showing partiality among our Christian brothers and sisters, then we are forming divisions and groups just like the world does, and Jesus is being dishonored in the process.