To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.
This proverb belongs to the collection in chapters 25 through 29 brought together by Hezekiah or in his time, about three hundred years after Solomon. To have respect of persons, to show partiality or favoritism, is not good but wrong and sinful. One who does so will transgress, violating what is right and breaking the law even for a small gain or material advantage, as slight as the bread needed for a meal. Favoring some people over others violates the courtesy owed to fellow human beings. Such partiality reveals a selfish principle and puts integrity in danger, so that one who practices it is liable to betray what is right under even a small temptation. The warning applies to everyone regardless of whether learned, rich, or poor, and calls for conduct governed by principle rather than by favor, fear, or worldly benefit.
In business the requirement is fair dealing without distortion by favoritism or self-interest, treating friends, enemies, and competitors alike with honesty. In matters of wages this does not forbid fair differences based on work, so an earnest and faithful worker may rightly receive more than an idle or ineffective worker. The warning fits contempt for the poor and neglect of justice, truth, and mercy.
In justice it condemns unequal judgment, such as giving a poor man who stole to eat a longer prison sentence than a wealthy woman whose much greater fraud ruined many lives. In the church, favoring the wealthy, talented, or well-clothed while neglecting the poor or less able shows this partiality, wounds those who are overlooked, and can make the church weak.
This proverb belongs to the collection in chapters 25 through 29 brought together by Hezekiah or in his time, about three hundred years after Solomon. To have respect of persons, to show partiality or favoritism, is not good but wrong and sinful. One who does so will transgress, violating what is right and breaking the law even for a small gain or material advantage, as slight as the bread needed for a meal. Favoring some people over others violates the courtesy owed to fellow human beings. Such partiality reveals a selfish principle and puts integrity in danger, so that one who practices it is liable to betray what is right under even a small temptation. The warning applies to everyone regardless of whether learned, rich, or poor, and calls for conduct governed by principle rather than by favor, fear, or worldly benefit.
In business the requirement is fair dealing without distortion by favoritism or self-interest, treating friends, enemies, and competitors alike with honesty. In matters of wages this does not forbid fair differences based on work, so an earnest and faithful worker may rightly receive more than an idle or ineffective worker. The warning fits contempt for the poor and neglect of justice, truth, and mercy.
In justice it condemns unequal judgment, such as giving a poor man who stole to eat a longer prison sentence than a wealthy woman whose much greater fraud ruined many lives. In the church, favoring the wealthy, talented, or well-clothed while neglecting the poor or less able shows this partiality, wounds those who are overlooked, and can make the church weak.