For the Lord your God God is no respecter of persons! This is good news! I have found myself in an ongoing discussion about equal rights…actually special rights and benefits for those who seem to have the cards stacked against them…specifically affirmative action laws, entitlement programs, etc. As I thought about the many variations of views on the topic, I realized that you can’t please everyone. The more you try to, the more people you find who are not satisfied.
I personally believe that there should be no actions, laws or programs that give special benefits to people. Of course, the argument will inevitably be that without the help there will always be some who suffer from not having a fair chance due to these “cards” they were dealt in life.
I asked myself how God sees the whole issue and remembered that He is not a respecter of persons. Every single man and woman is on equal footing with God. It might not settle the debate of legislating special rights, but it’s comforting to know that in His kingdom, there truly are equal rights.
God has the same unconditional love for each and every one of us and will never play favorites with anyone for any reason. I love that. I love that it doesn’t matter what home you were born into, what culture you were raised in, or what time period or geographical location you happen to live in. It has nothing to do with your intelligence, how many years you’ve trained in a seminary, or how skillful you are at communicating with the Almighty. You could be a model citizen, or a criminal. You could fit the world’s mold of beauty or be completely disfigured. Got disabilities? It makes no difference to God. You don’t need any references. You don’t have to have your “i”s dotted or your “t”s crossed on an application. He makes Himself accessible for anyone at any time to come to Him just the way they are.
On the flip side, no one will get into the Kingdom as a result of their credentials or because they’ve had a much more difficult life and should get some sort of break. He does expect everyone to make their own effort to come to Him, and their own choice to follow Him. He gives every single individual a chance to accept His forgiveness after they humbly confess that they’re a sinner without giving excuses for their sin such as, “Well, it’s not my fault that I have so much anger in me. Just look at what’s happened in my life,” or, “I know I shouldn’t act this way, but this is just the way it is in my family, so I can’t help it.”
Bottom line, God gives everyone the choice to choose Him and make Him their Lord and Savior, but He expects them to make that choice by their own free will. He does not make it for them, and likewise, nobody can make the choice for anyone other than themselves. Everyone will stand before Him on their day of judgment…even the ones who don’t believe that they will.
What a wonderful aspect of God that He does not show partiality or favoritism to anyone. I may not live in a perfect world, and more and more it seems that the laws of my own country are further and further from what I’d like them to be. Don’t we all have certain inalienable rights endowed by our Creator such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Doesn’t that mean that the pursuit of happiness is a right given to us by God not by government? I suppose that we’ve strayed quite a bit from the original intent of our Founding Fathers in the area of rights. Progress in equal rights is good, but “special” rights go over and above what is necessary. Never the less, I’m only here for a little while. My eternity will be spent with a God who is equal and fair in all areas.
is God of gods and Lord of lords,
The great God, mighty and awesome,
who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.”
Deuteronomy 10:17
Amie Spruiell 4/8/2011
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