The Preferred people of God ?!

It seems these days that there are many people who argue that God has a preferred group of people that He loves more. Recently i was at a church service in which a passage of Scripture was preached from Deuteronomy. The person preaching noted that the text shows that God loves the fatherless, widows and aliens (foreigners) more than others. There are some that argue that God prefers the poor to the rich, that He loves them more than others. But is this really the case?? Yes Jesus touched the lives of those who were disenfranchised by poverty, health and cultural backgrounds, but does that mean he loves them more??

Today i was working on a sermon from Deuteronomy 10:12-22 for the fundraising Campaign. For those wondering, the passage answers the question: "What does God want from me?" In it we are called to love, serve and fear the Lord, to hold fast to Him, and to love the alien. This passage does an amazing Job of defining who God is: He is Yahweh your God (often translated Lord your God), God of Gods, Lord of Lords, great God, mighty and awesome, who owns all of the heavens and the earth and all that is in it, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He is also the God who chose to show affection to Israel, and defends the cause of the widows, fatherless and the aliens.

So what is going on here? Does God have partiality or not? He chose the Israelites out of all the peoples of the world to be "His people." And singled out of His acts are his defense of those who are disenfranchised. A quick survey of Israelite history would show that while the Israelites are chosen by God, they are not given partial treatment: they have to answer for their sins towards God, not given any kind of leniency. God may have been patient in calling a disobedient nation to repentance numerous times before punishing them, but He did not relent when the sin continued. This is an aspect of God's love and mercy rather than preferential treatment.

But what of the widows, orphans and aliens? Those who are on the outside of the Israelite community? This too goes to speak to God's character. Unlike other gods who were regional/territorial, limited and power and could be bought on bribes, God (Yahweh) does not ignore the "lessers" of society. Rather than spiting them, He defends them and cares for them. Other so-called gods show mercy etc. to those who can pay for it. Yahweh cares for those who cannot "buy" His affections. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE MORE IMPORTANT IN HIS EYES, or that the kingdom is JUST for those who are impoverished, it means that the kingdom includes them! God's defense of the powerless, those who have no way to earn His defense of them, speaks to HIS character, not a greater worth by those who are disenfranchised or a preference for poor people on the part of God.

But then, let's think about this on another level. Really, who is in a position to "earn" God's defense? Who is good enough, strong enough, smart enough, pure enough on their own to earn His love and defense? Romans is clear -- ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us are aliens in the kingdom of God, because we first were citizens of the world, but have been welcomed into it by God and those who serve Him. Aren't we all disenfranchised in some way, regardless of our income level?

Do the poor need to hear the gospel? YES!! And so do the rich, and all those in between those two classes of people. Let's stop focusing on God's "preferred people" and bring God's full gospel to all peoples.


melissa