“To show partiality is not good, but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.” Proverbs 28:21
Devotional Thought For The Day
The commentator, Matthew Henry wrote: “It is a fundamental error in the administration of justice, and that which cannot but lead men to abundance of transgression, to consider the parties concerned more than the merits of the cause, so as to favor one because he is a gentleman, a scholar, my countryman, my old acquaintance, has formerly done me a kindness, or may do me one, or is of my party and persuasion, and to bear hard on the other party because he is a stranger, a poor man, has done me an ill turn, is or has been my rival, or is not of my mind, or has voted against me. Judgment is perverted when any consideration of this kind is admitted into the scale, any thing but pure right.” Regardless of whether we agree with this or not it is true, and sadly there is much of this in the world to this day. We resent such partiality when it is imposed against us or one of our loved ones, and we howl at the injustice and seethe with anger. However, this is pretty much the normal way in which we view conflicts, siding with those we know – often on account of loyalty. We should understand the evil of this, and that true loyalty cannot abide injustice; even our friends, partners, cohorts, and loved ones may need the discipline of justice to bring them back to repentance and commitment to what is good and right.
This translation doesn’t show the connection between the exercise of “partiality” and a total loss of conscience, but these two assertions in regard to perversion of justice, linked together in one sentence, implies that the one begets the other. Again, Matthew Henry was spot on when he wrote: “Those that are partial will be paltry. Those that have once broken through the bonds of equity, though, at first, it must be some great bribe, some noble present, that would bias them, yet, when they have debauched their consciences, they will, at length, be so sordid that for a piece of bread they will give judgment against their consciences.” Sadly, we occasionally meet such people, whose every decision and action takes primary consideration of what will bring them the greatest personal benefit, and who will not be moved to action without at least some personal gain. In fact, on many occasions we expect this, and actually point out that personal benefit in order to get the person to act on our behalf. And often we have the same expectation in what we are willing to do, especially if it involves some effort or sacrifice on our part. We expect reward and are disappointed when it is not forthcoming, or ends up being less than what we anticipated.
Most of our interactions do not involve a direct perversion of justice, but we are usually willing to ignore inequities and the larger picture. When we refuse to pay anything but the rock bottom lowest price we may be endangering the good of the company, the jobs and salaries of those who work there, and perhaps even the financial well-being of the owner. But we do not think of this, but rather only about ourselves, and we justify this by assuming that the owner and management are thinking the same way, not caring about us but only themselves, that they are willing to take a rapacious profit from us to enrich themselves. And this may well be the case. However, when we refuse to pay a decent price for a product, we may be driving owners and manufacturers to move to other countries where they can take advantage of truly poor people by paying a dismal wage for their labor. It is perhaps beyond our responsibility to take all of these things into consideration, or to rectify all injustice, but we should be aware that all of our behaviors have some impact on others, and that our selfishness, greed, and partiality will have negative impact not only on others but also on our own heart and soul.
So there is need to repent and to lament the wretchedness of human sin. And when we do so we are confronted by the grace, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, and love of God. He sent His Son to redeem us at a cost of great personal suffering, and He showed no partiality in this. “For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all.” [Rom. 11:32] He didn’t do this out of consideration for His own benefit but for ours; He knew that the vast majority of mankind would reject His love and His gift of salvation. [Matt. 7:13,14; 2 Pet. 2:1] Still, He performed full justice for the sin of the world, at great cost to Himself and to bring us great blessing. And we are called to be and do the same for others, to reject selfishness and personal profit and to operate “justly” even if it costs us. We are called to be committed to justice, but even more to have pity, kindness, mercy, and compassion toward others – especially toward the least, lowest, poorest, and most disadvantaged. It is a horrid thing to be committed to living out of the inner crookedness of our sinful heart. The proverb warns us to take great care and caution to never allow such partiality even a toehold in our hearts. As children of God, we know that we cannot remain committed to any sin.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, we want our friends to take care of us and stand by us even when our cause is not just, and so we are also tempted to pervert justice for the sake of our friends. Forgive us for this sinful tendency, and forbid that we should fall into such fellowship of sin. Wean our hearts and minds to Your love, to selfless devotion and commitment to what is right and good, so that we may protect those who are innocent and vulnerable, and minister properly to those who are doing injustice and harm. Preserve us always from the sinful greed that seeks to control us. Amen.