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Without Partiality, and...Favoritism


I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. (I Timothy 5: 21-22) 

Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. (Leviticus 19:15) 

          Do you have peeps? Do you have a posse? How about a BFF? I suppose some of these terms are now passé, but the question is timeless. Do you have people who will defend to the death, people who can do no wrong? Are there others you will refuse to defend even if they are right, who cannot be right? This is the situation in our society. It goes beyond political partisanship, though it is often political. There are people who have been declared “oppressed” who are considered righteous in anything they do. Let them destroy a city, and, well, they’re angry, they must be excused. Let them block traffic and endanger lives, and, well, they’re upset, they must be excused. Let them threaten riots if someone is permitted on campus to speak, but they’re entitled to their safe places. Let them use the courts to destroy the business of someone who refuses to submit to their demands, and it’s the businessman who is wrong. Unless, of course, the businessman is Bruce Springsteen. Millions self-righteously tweet and post abuse every day but if Mr. Trump unwisely tweets as he does, the nation is in crisis. 
         Paul doesn’t just suggest that Timothy should have no part in this behavior. He commands it in the strongest terms. If one of his church’s elders, someone who was probably a trusted friend, did wrong, Timothy was not to overlook it or make excuses. Neither was he to condemn someone because he pitied the person lodging the complaint. Judgment was to be made based on the merits of the argument. If it is wrong for a Christian to demand that society function according to Christian rules and definitions, then it is equally wrong for a Liberal to demand that society function according to Liberal rules and definitions. And, if it is wrong for a Liberal to demand that society function according to Liberal rules and definitions, then it is equally wrong for a Christian to demand that society function according to Christian rules and definitions. The same rules apply to both sides or to neither. That leaves us with a different question. What rules and definitions are best for society as a whole?
 

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