Who Has God’s Favor?
ALL of us want to be liked by our associates. To a Christian a far stronger desire is to find favor with God. Of Jehovah God, it is stated at Psalm 84:11: “Favor and glory are what he gives. Jehovah himself will not hold back anything good from those walking in faultlessness.” At the birth of Jesus, the joyful cry of the heavenly angels promised “peace on earth for men whom he favours!”—Luke 2:14, Moffatt.
But whom does God favor? Are God’s standards the same as man’s? Understandably, they are not, as indicated by what was discussed in the previous article. In fact, since Christians are admonished to “become imitators of God,” each of us might well ask, Do I show favor to persons whom God favors, or am I inclined to follow worldly standards in my judgment of people? (Ephesians 5:1) To gain Jehovah’s favor and approval, we must take care to see things from his viewpoint.
God’s Higher Standards
“God is not partial,” said the apostle Peter, “but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” Further, the apostle Paul testified that God “made out of one man every nation of men.” (Acts 10:34, 35; 17:26) It is only reasonable to conclude, therefore, that all humans are equal in God’s sight no matter what their physical characteristics are. That being the case, it would not befit a Christian to favor someone unduly simply because that one comes from a particular region or is of a certain skin color or belongs to another race. Rather, he would do well to follow his Exemplar, Jesus Christ, about whom even enemies admitted that he showed no partiality.—Matthew 22:16.
The expression “skin-deep” is at times used to describe something that is shallow or unimportant. Skin color is just that; it is only skin-deep. The color of a person’s skin in no way reflects his personality or inner qualities. When it comes to choosing people with whom to associate, to eat, or to shake hands, we should certainly not look particularly at skin color. Remember, the maiden who inspired some of the most beautiful and romantic poetry ever written said of herself: “A black girl I am, but comely, . . . I am swarthy, because the sun has caught sight of me.” (Song of Solomon 1:5, 6) Neither race nor color forms a proper basis for showing favor. Much more important is whether a person fears God and works righteousness.
How does God feel about the possession of material wealth? Of all the persons whom God loves and favors, his Son, Jesus Christ, is the foremost. Yet, when on earth, Jesus had “nowhere to lay down his head.” (Matthew 8:20) He owned no landed property, houses, fields, fruit trees, or animals. Still, Jehovah honored him and exalted him to a position that is above everyone else in the universe except God himself.—Philippians 2:9.
Jesus Christ found favor with God because he was rich not in material goods but in fine works. (Compare 1 Timothy 6:17, 18.) He admonished his followers: “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19, 20) Thus, rather than showing favor only to those who are rich in this world’s goods, Christians will make no distinctions on the basis of worldly belongings. They will seek out those who are rich toward God irrespective of whether they are rich or poor in a material way. Never forget that “God chose the ones who are poor respecting the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom.” (James 2:5) If you maintain God’s viewpoint, you will never fall prey to the common practice of favoring or catering to the materially rich.
As for education, the Bible clearly shows that God urges us to seek knowledge and wisdom and that Jesus Christ was the greatest teacher ever to walk the earth. (Proverbs 4:7; Matthew 7:29; John 7:46) But it is not worldly wisdom or education that finds favor with God. On the contrary, Paul tells us that “not many wise in a fleshly way were called, . . . but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put the wise men to shame.”—1 Corinthians 1:26, 27.
God favors those who are well educated, not in the secular subjects taught in institutes of higher learning, but in the “pure language” of truth as found in his Word, the Bible. (Zephaniah 3:9) In fact, Jehovah himself is teaching his people today by means of an educational program that extends to the far corners of the earth. As foretold by the prophet Isaiah, people of all nations are responding by saying: “Let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” Therefore, instead of glorifying secular education, Christians will seek out those who prove by their words and deeds that they are really “persons taught by Jehovah.” By so doing, they will enjoy the ‘abundant peace’ that God gives.—Isaiah 2:3; 54:13.
We Can Gain God’s Favor
Yes, God’s standards for bestowing favor on others are very different from man’s. Nevertheless, we must endeavor to be guided by his ways if we want to gain favor in his eyes. That means we must learn to see others from God’s point of view and not by human standards, influenced as they may be by selfishness and prejudice. How can we do that?
Jehovah God examines a person’s heart and favors those who display such qualities as love, goodness, kindness, and long-suffering. We should do likewise. (1 Samuel 16:7; Galatians 5:22, 23) We need to look at the inner person, to the extent we as humans can, and not at his skin color or ethnic background. Rather than seeking out those rich in material things, we do well to bear in mind God’s view of riches and strive “to be rich in fine works, to be liberal, ready to share.” (1 Timothy 6:18) To gain God’s favor, we must continue to seek accurate knowledge of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ, becoming well educated in the pure language of truth. (John 17:3, 17) In so doing, we too will be among those whom God favors.