What Kind of People Do You Favor?
“BRIDE WANTED. Should be fair and slim, graduate or preferably postgraduate. Must be from good family with properties. Same caste preferred.”
SO READS a typical matrimonial advertisement that you might see in a newspaper in India. Likely, you could see something similar in many other parts of the world. In India the notice is usually issued by the parents of a prospective groom. Replies may include a photograph of a girl dressed in a bright red sari and wearing a lot of gold jewelry. If the boy’s family approves, negotiations with a view to marriage would begin.
Common Standards of Value
In India requests for a fair bride are very common. This is due to a deep-rooted belief that the so-called lower castes of Hindu society are dark skinned. Recently, a program on Indian television told a story of two girls, one fair and the other dark. The fair girl was cruel and ill-mannered; the dark girl was kind and gentle. A magical reversal took place, and the fair girl became dark as punishment, while the dark girl was made fair. The moral of the story obviously was that while goodness eventually triumphs, fair skin is a desired reward.
Such racial feelings are often far more deep-seated than one may realize. For example, an Asian may visit a Western country and complain that he was mistreated because of the color of his skin or the slant of his eyes. Such actions disturb him, and he feels discriminated against. But when he returns to his native land, he may treat persons of a different ethnic group the very same way. Even today skin color and ethnic background play a major role in many people’s estimation of another person’s worth.
“Money is what meets a response in all things,” wrote King Solomon of ancient times. (Ecclesiastes 10:19) How true that is! Wealth also affects how people are viewed. The source of the wealth is rarely questioned. Has a man become rich because of hard work or careful management or dishonesty? That hardly matters. Riches, ill-gotten or not, lead many people to curry favor with the possessor.
Higher education too has been placed on a pedestal in this competitive world. As soon as a child is born, parents are urged to start putting aside large sums for education. By the time he is two or three years old, they worry about getting him into the right nursery school or kindergarten as a first step on the long journey to a university degree. Some people seem to think that a prestigious diploma carries with it the right to favor and respect from others.
Yes, skin color, education, money, ethnic background—these have become the standards by which many people judge or, rather, prejudge another person. These are the factors that determine to whom they show favor and from whom they withhold it. What about you? Whom do you favor? Do you consider someone with money, fair skin, or higher education more deserving of favor and respect? If so, you need to consider seriously the basis for your feelings.
Are These Sound Standards?
The book Hindu World observes: “Any one of the lower castes killing a brāhmin could be tortured to death and his property confiscated, and his soul was eternally damned. A brāhmin who killed anyone could only be fined and never punished with death.” Though the book is speaking of ancient times, what about today? Racial prejudice and communal tension have caused rivers of blood to flow even in the 20th century. And this has not been confined to India. The hatred and violence perpetuated by apartheid in South Africa, racial prejudice in the United States, nationalist prejudice in the Baltics—the list goes on and on—are all caused by feelings of innate superiority. Certainly, such favoring of one person over another because of race or nationality has not produced good, peaceful fruits.
How about wealth? Undoubtedly, many become rich through honest, hard work. However, enormous wealth has been amassed by underworld criminals, black marketers, drug traffickers, illegal-arms dealers, and others. True, some of these donate to charities or support schemes to help the poor. Nevertheless, their criminal acts have brought untold suffering and misery to their victims. Even comparatively small-time operators, such as those who take a bribe or share in shady business practices, have caused frustration, injury, and death when their products or services fail and malfunction. Indeed, possession of wealth in itself is no basis for favorable judgment.
What, then, about education? Does a long list of degrees and titles after a person’s name guarantee that he is honest and upright? Does it mean that he should be looked upon with favor? Granted, education can broaden one’s horizons, and many who have made use of their education to benefit others are deserving of honor and respect. But history is replete with examples of exploitation and oppression of the masses by the educated class. And consider what is happening on the college or university scene today. Campuses are plagued with problems of drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases, and many students enroll solely in the pursuit of money, power, and fame. A person’s education alone is hardly a reliable indicator of his true character.
No, skin color, education, money, ethnic background, or other such factors are not a sound basis on which to judge another person’s worth. Christians should not be preoccupied with these matters in an effort to gain favor from others. What, then, should a person be concerned with? What standards should one go by?