He considered becoming a Christian, but the church rejected him. When the famous Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi (October 2, 1869—January 30, 1948) was a student, he read the Gospels and became intrigued by Christianity. He found the Christian faith particularly appealing because it seemed to offer a solution to the discriminatory system that plagued the Indian people. Therefore, he attended a Christian church one Sunday, only to be startled when the ushers refused to give him a seat. He never returned after they told him to worship “with his own people,” and he reportedly commented,  “If Christians have caste differences also, I might as well remain a Hindu.”¹

Such favoritism and bias in the treatment of others is what the Bible calls partiality. And it is condemned, chastised, and castigated in the same holy Scriptures which Gandhi studied. As James the apostle commanded, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1). Partiality is the attitude which says to some,  “I like you because you are like me,” and to others, “And I don’t like you because you aren’t like me.” Partiality occurs when we wrongfully judge someone or write them off because of their politics, opinions, doctrinal beliefs, or even things like their past, personality, or appearance.

And the only way to kill the vice of partiality is to feed the virtue of impartiality. Believers should esteem everyone with equal scales, whether they are in the family of God or not. We ought to love and serve our like-minded neighbor and the one with whom we have nothing in common. God doesn’t play favorites and neither should we (cf. Deut. 10:17-18; Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; 1 Peter 1:17). Followers of Christ should never show “favoritism to gain advantage” (Jude 16).

Simply put, we must treat others as our Lord Jesus did—with a plumb line and an impartial eye. The Gospels tell us that Jesus preached the gospel to both the adulterous woman at the well and the religious teacher, Nicodemus. Christ reclined at table with Pharisees and ate dinner with sinners. Our Lord also praised the poor woman for the last penny she gave to the synagogue, and was just as delighted when rich men like Matthew and Zacchaeus gave up their livelihoods to follow Him. And most notably, Christ freely forgave sinners without favoritism, whether it was the pitiful paralytic lowered through Peter’s roof or the criminal crucified beside Him. If the Lord of glory showed no partiality, then how can we?

1. Gandhi was also unfairly critical of Christianity, so everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt. In this case, he was correct.

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