God Has No Favorites

“And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)” Galatians 2:6 NLT

We all have favorites of one thing or another, but favorites when it comes to people is not wise. There are people we look up to with favoritism as much as we try to deny it. Some favoritism is not bad. My deep love for music across all genres has positioned me to be observant of true talent of an artist over their popularity therefore instilling my favorites. The same can be said of those on my list of favorite baseball players, and so on. But when it comes to my favorite pastor, radio preacher, theologian, or missionary organization I need to be more than careful they are on the top of my list for the right reason.

In my daily reading of scripture the other day, a verse from the apostle Paul jumped out at me. Paul was telling the churches of Galatia of his meeting with the leaders of the Jerusalem church, Peter, James (the Lord’s brother), and John. Paul went there to confirm that his ministry to the Greeks was the same gospel they were preaching to the Jews. He wanted to be sure his theology agreed with theirs and asked for their support. He noted Peter, James, and John had nothing to add to his preaching, but then Paul said this, ‘By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.’ (Gal. 2:6 nlt) It got me to thinking.

The fact that Peter and John were original apostles of Jesus, and James was the Jesus’ brother did not elevate them higher than Paul, nor was their preaching of more value. Their mere reputation did not result in greater preaching, or greater blessing from God. Each would be ministering where and to whom God has assigned for His purposes. Fast forward to our day, the Lord assigns each minister of the gospel to meet the needs of those in their care. The only favorites one should have concerning the ministers of the gospel is the sermon, ministry, book, devotionals, or other work by those God has chosen to encourage and strengthen us spiritually in our time of need. We will always look favorably to those God has used to inspire us. Let us also thank God for them as we remember God has no favorites.