The Danger of Social and Financial Favoritism
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1
One of the most beautiful truths of the Gospel is that our worth as children of God is not based on what we do, own, or achieve, it’s based entirely on who we belong to
When Jesus shed His blood for us, He didn’t weigh our bank accounts or ask for our résumés. He declared us worthy because of His sacrifice, not our status. In the Kingdom of God, value is rooted in identity, not possessions.
Yet, despite this truth, the church is not immune to a subtle but dangerous lie: measuring another believer’s worth by their social or financial status.
1. Worthiness Is Given, Not Achieved
Romans 5:8 reminds us:
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Our worth is established by the price God paid, the life of His Son. The value of something is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it, and God deemed us worth the highest price imaginable
2. The Creeping Lie of Financial Measurement
When worldly standards creep into the body of Christ, believers begin to assess others by the wrong scale. This is not new — James 2:1–4 openly confronts it:
“…if you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes… but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’… have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”
Social and Financial favoritism distorts Kingdom vision in several ways:
- Worldly Values Replacing Kingdom Values – The culture measures value by net worth; the Kingdom measures by new birth
- Misunderstood Prosperity – Wealth is wrongly seen as proof of God’s favor, while lack of it is seen as failure or disobedience
- Pride and Comparison – Those with more materially may feel superior, creating unspoken hierarchies in the church
- Insecurity Masked as Judgment – Believers who root identity in possessions may look down on others to feel more secure
3. Jesus’ Example of True Worth
Jesus did not measure people by what they owned. He embraced fishermen, tax collectors, the poor, the sick, and the marginalized. He declared in Luke 4:18 that He was anointed “to proclaim good news to the poor”.
If our Lord, the King of Kings, humbled Himself to serve those with nothing, how can His followers allow wealth to determine honor in His house?
4. Living From True Worth
When you know your worth in Christ, it changes how you treat yourself and others:
- You stop striving for approval — because you already have God’s
- You stop measuring others by what they have — because you know worth is in identity, not income, nor status
- You build bridges across social and financial differences — because the Spirit unites us as co-heirs in Christ (Romans 8:17)
- You reflect the impartial love of God — because you honor the image of God in everyone
5. A Kingdom Call to Repentance
Social and Financial Favoritism is not just a minor flaw; it is sin. It undermines the unity of the body and misrepresents God’s heart. The church must repent for every way we have valued people based on what they possess rather than Who possesses them
The world says: “Prove yourself by what you have.”
God says: “Receive My love and know you are Mine.”
Prayer of Alignment
Father, forgive us for the times we have judged others by outward appearances, especially by wealth or status. Teach us to see as You see, with eyes of mercy and hearts of compassion. Help us to honor every believer as a precious child of God, worthy because of the blood of Jesus. Remove from us every form of partiality and fill us with the love that builds true unity in Your house. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Final Encouragement:
In Christ, there is no rich or poor, high or low, favored or forgotten. There is only the redeemed.
Let us walk in the truth that every child of God carries the same priceless worth, bought by the same blood, loved by the same Father, destined for the same glory.
The Anointed Scribe’s Lamp 