To love your neighbor is to show no partiality. That is the Royal Law.
James 2:8-9 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
How interesting that the law against partiality is first mentioned in the same place where the law to love one’s neighbor first appears: Leviticus 19:15. Truly, the Holy Spirit knows that it is easier for fallen humans to show favor to people who are rich, more influential, and better looking.
James addresses this in the previous verses where he emphasizes the importance of showing no partiality. To him, treating all people with respect, whether they are rich or poor, is loving one’s neighbor as you love yourself. He drives his point further by claiming that it is the Royal Law.
As such, it has prominence among other laws that govern human relationships. It is the Royal Law because the king does it. It is a royal custom, a practice reserved for kings. Therefore, anyone who loves his neighbor as he loves himself is doing well, i.e., he is royalty.
On the other hand, if we continue to show partiality by favoring some people because we can benefit from them, we are missing the mark. We are transgressing God’s law that states we must love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Believers today must actively practice authentic Christianity, fully obeying the Royal Law. This requires a conscious decision to refrain from any partiality and class distinctions, specifically because society is divided based on social status, culture, race, and religious differences. To do otherwise is to break the law, to exhibit deception, and to lose sight of the goal of faith.
You are the one and only King, Heavenly Father, and we are your children. Teach us to refrain from all partiality and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Amen.
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