Everyone on earth has a bias. After all, it is undoubtedly one of the characteristics that distinguishes people. Religion, nationality, ethnicity, education, gender, occupation, and age are all factors that influence how we make decisions. Although biases are not inherently negative, they do become unhealthy when we constantly favour them over character and skill. It's admirable to desire your kinsman to be president of the nation, but would you put your ethnicity before competence? Because you believe it to be a man's job, would you rather hire an incompetent person? Enterprises, organizations, and institutions employ stringent policies and frameworks to reduce the impact of biases on their operations, among other reasons. Biases are powerful, it’s an open secret.
Zacman was a short and ‘hard’ man. Two characteristics that are most definitely not at the top of anyone's list of biases. He had a good paying "9 to 5" job, but he was clever enough to find ways to increase the pay, even though there were obviously illegal. In the eyes of the public, he was a daylight robber, which is perhaps worse than those who commit crimes at night. Truth be told, the entire corporation was responsible for these corrupt practices, not just him. There was virtually nothing anyone could do about it because the system was set up to promote corruption and even the government benefited from it. Put aside all the reforms they mention. We are aware of numerous professions that blatantly defraud people while still getting away with it.
People in these professions know that the general public dislikes them, but because greed and evil have pierced their consciences, they no longer care. Although they consistently assert that money is a better company, they actually lead lonely lives. Everyone did loathe Zacman. Due to his small stature, he frequently needed to be lifted in order to see properly what was going on among crowds. People even made the jest that his little stature was nature's retribution for the evil he had done.
Zacman once found himself in the midst of a sizable crowd listening to a preacher. Since beginning this 'lucrative' vocation, he had grown accustomed to hearing sermons of every kind that condemned him. He was publicly called out by preachers, and he received finger-pointing accusations from other people. He was aware that all their dislike for him was legitimate, yet he still wished that someone would treat him better. The preacher's words that day, when Zacman ascended an elevated platform, were profound and potent. He was torn apart by his words, yet they weren't condemning this time. Love was the undertone and the hard man really felt like a soft boy. He was still trying to control his wild emotions when the preacher called him out and said he was ready to have dinner at his house. It was definitely a surreal moment. His subsequent actions showed that nobody indeed is unredeemable.
When people expect certain things to happen in their favour because they think they are in good standings with God, it is obvious that they do not understand the idea of God's mercy and grace. How does anyone ever determine when they have put in enough effort to 'earn' God's blessings? There is a new crop of ‘elite’ Christians that call themselves “God’s Favourite” and these set of people believe they have the right of first refusal from God. God 'owes' them a response before anyone else since they are usually first in His unending queue. They frequently assume that God must have His own bias, so they graciously compile a list for Him. They're wrong in believing that God thinks the same way as people do.
The alleged favourites of God are those who are Christians, pious, filled with the Holy Spirit, and tithe payers. When individuals claim that God has favourites, they are implying that He is prejudiced, which is untrue, as we all know. God is not able to be biased, just as He is not able to lie. It's okay if you believe that you are God's favourite, but there isn't a single place in the Bible where God refers to someone as His favourite. In fact, 'hard' men like Zacman should be God's favourites if He has any.
Article is culled from Zacchaeus’ Story in the bible (Luke 19:1-10).
God's Favourite?
By
Friday Okwori