Showing Partiality Is Not Good

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

Proverbs 28:18-22

The Message

¹⁸ Walk straight—live well and be saved;
    a devious life is a doomed life.

Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways

¹⁹ Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;
    play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.

²⁰ Committed and persistent work pays off;
    get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.

²¹ Playing favorites is always a bad thing;
    you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.

²² A miser in a hurry to get rich
    doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.

For Reflection

Sounds a lot like Ben Franklin!  One possible commonality that links these verses to each other is that action has consequence some of which is intentional and some of which is unintended. Consequences can be favorable or untoward.  I suppose the connection to the title is verse 21.  One can not always predict with accuracy the full result of any action and so it is probably best that one regards his or her judgments and action as temporal and be willing to change in the face of results.  It is always best to judge on the basis of known facts rather than inferences however tempting or reliable those inferences may be. 

Pray

for the wisdom inherent in a God-driven life.  Pray that the judgments you and others make is based on the merits of each case.