2024_07_26 Insight Post- Frances Koch
This week’s reading- Genesis 29, Genesis 30, Genesis 49:31, Ruth 4:11
When my children were little, they would sometimes accuse me of favoring one of them over the other. Of course, I adamantly denied it. Likewise, in my classroom, as a teacher, I have to pay careful attention to make sure I’m enforcing our classroom rules in a fair way. It helps that my students call me out when something seems unjust to them. Reading this story this week about Leah and her sister Rachel reminds me that even when people play favorites, God doesn’t.
When Jacob was deceived by Laban and married Leah by mistake, he was understandably angry and distraught. After a week, he also married Rachel. The Bible says, “… and he loved her much more than Leah” (Gen 29:30b). This whole story is upsetting and a great case against polygamy, but today’s post is about Leah. I find myself thinking about how easy it is to favor certain people over others in our lives. In the case of Jacob and his two wives (not to mention their servant girls), I can easily see why Jacob preferred the wife that he wanted over the one he didn’t. Nevertheless, Leah’s pain is so very hard to think about. My Bible notes say that after Leah gave birth to her last son (Gen 29:20) she named him in a way that indicated she thought her husband would finally give her honor. Apparently, Jacob never did.
Showing favoritism is something the Bible says that God never does (Romans 2:11). In the New Testament, in the book of James 2:1, we are told that as his followers, we must not show favoritism.
In our lives we have to be on our guard against favoritism, too. We are called to love others as Jesus loved us. Some people around us aren’t exciting or lovely or funny. They aren’t the life of the party. They might not really be “our cup of tea.” But yet we find ourselves sitting next to them at a meeting, or assigned to work with them on a project. Sometimes I remind myself that God loves that other person just as much as he loves me. He died for that person the same as He did for me. He shows no favoritism, and since He is my Lord, I do it His way. Also, sometimes it occurs to me that someone might be thinking those same things about ME!
As a parent, I would add one more comment. If you have more than one child, I actually think it’s not uncommon to connect more easily with one than another. Sometimes, in some situations, it’s easier to manage one over another because of their personalities. However, I think it’s imperative to take a step back periodically, and, with God’s help, evaluate any messages we might be accidentally sending about favoring a child over another. Making an extra effort to combat any tendency to favor one over another and asking God’s blessing on your efforts will bring freedom and life to any areas where this might be happening.
Finally, I don’t want to stop thinking about Leah without mentioning that she seems to understand that God would be her hope. Her fourth son was named, Judah, which means, “I will praise the Lord.” When we are affected by favoritism, let’s remember that our hope isn’t in others, it’s in Jesus. He never plays favorites, and He defends those who have been treated unjustly. I am going to look for ways to be more like Him today.
Frances Koch
Prayer Team Member