21/08/2026
When Favouritism Changes the Way People Are Treated
Favouritism is something many of us have experienced - but sometimes we don't recognise it for what it is.
It can happen at work, in families, friendships, relationships, communities, and even in places where we expect fairness.
It looks like giving one person more chances, more attention, more opportunities or more understanding simply because they are liked, connected, influential or personally preferred.
And sometimes, the hardest part isn't being overlooked.
It's watching someone else receive preferential treatment when you know the same standard would not be given to you.
But there is something important to understand:
One unfair decision doesn't always mean favouritism. A repeated pattern of unequal treatment does.
So how do we respond?
Don't immediately react from hurt.
Observe the pattern.
Don't compete for someone's approval.
Keep building yourself.
Don't gossip or attack the person who is being favoured.
Protect your character.
Don't stay silent when something genuinely needs addressing.
Speak with honesty and respect.
And don't allow someone else's preference to become the measure of your worth.
Because sometimes we spend so much energy asking:
"Why did they choose them and not me?" that we forget to ask:
"What can I learn? What is within my control? And what kind of person am I choosing to become?"
There is also another uncomfortable question we should all be willing to ask ourselves:
"Do I show favouritism?"
Do I give certain people more chances because I like them?
Do I listen more carefully to people with status or influence?
Do I judge one person's mistakes more harshly than another's?
Do I overlook people simply because they have nothing to offer me?
Whether you are a person of faith or not, there is a powerful principle here:
Fairness begins with us.
For Christians, Scripture makes this even clearer:
โGod does not show favouritism.โ - Romans 2:11
And James 2 warns believers against treating people differently because of their position or status.
The message is simple:
Don't let favouritism make you bitter.
Don't let rejection make you feel worthless.
And don't let your own preferences make you unfair toward others.
You may not always be able to control who gets chosen.
But you can control how you respond, how you treat people, and who you become in the process.
Because being overlooked by people does not mean you are overlooked by God.
And being someone's favourite doesn't make you more valuable than anyone else.
Choose fairness.
Choose integrity.
Choose kindness.
Choose to see people - not for what they can do for you, but for who they are.
That's how we begin to change the culture around us - one decision, one relationship and one person at a time.
Have you ever experienced favouritism - and how did it change the way you saw yourself or others?