A World's Partial Dealings

Recently I wrote an article for the Leading Nations Blog entitled “Response Determined by Human Value.” I begin to ponder on how God views partiality and our responses determined by another’s possessions and not on their pure human value as a person. I give the article below but first let’s look at the scriptures dealing with partiality.

James 2:1-10

¹  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
²  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
³  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
⁴  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
⁵  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
⁶  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
⁷  Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
⁸  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
⁹  But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
¹⁰  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 

It’s interesting to note how many families have been fractured due to partial dealings from parents to children. The question then becomes – what happens to a world that lives with partial dealings from one another?

If there were two tribes in central Africa committing inexplicable atrocities against each other, and simultaneously two sects of people in central Europe doing the same; would the world respond the same to both situations? Would there be an immediate rush to end the violence and bloodshed? It begs the question, would there be an amassing of resources and financing to invest in the eventual outcome of peace? According to recent history, the truth glares at our lack of equality when it comes to intervening, or lack of, in these situations.

Unfortunately, do the powerhouse nations determine their response on economic rewards, geopolitical advantage, or ethnic background? If this is going on then there is a tiered human value system determined by a people’s economic status and possible perceived contribution to other societies and cultures. It’s the same principle if I see a man broke down along the side of the road and he is in an inexpensive car and I drive on by. However I would have stopped if the man would have been in a Mercedes. My response predicated on his economic status. 

This inequality in our response should bring shame to our global leaders who turn a blind eye to the genocide and horrible human devastation. Global inaction demands responsibility on those who can but won’t intervene.

Eric Reeves said it best concerning Darfur

International failure in responding to genocide in Darfur should be occasion for the deepest shame. Inaction has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and caused untold human suffering.

We can do better than this! ALL lives matter regardless of skin color, ethnic background, economic status, or geopolitical advantage or disadvantage.