When he was a student, the famous Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, considered becoming a Christian. He read the Gospels and was moved by them. It seemed to him that Christianity offered a solution to the caste system that plagued the people of India.
One Sunday, he went to a local church. He had decided to ask the pastor how he could be saved. However, when he entered the church, which consisted of white people, the ushers refused to give him a seat. They told him to go and worship with his own people. He left and never went back. Gandhi thought, “If Christians have caste differences also, I might as well remain a Hindu” (from “Our Daily Bread,” [Feb. 1979]).
That tragic story illustrates the sin of partiality that James writes and warns against in James 2:1-13, as he teaches that there is no place for partiality, especially in the church. His focus is on the sin of showing favoritism to the rich and despising the poor, but the principle applies to all types of prejudice, whether it is based on economic status, race, etc. To favor some people and to disregard others based on outward factors is a terrible sin that plagued the early church in James’ day, and in our day as well. It has plagued the church in every generation, because it stems from pride, which has its foundation in our fallen hearts.