In truth, God does not show favoritism—the things the world values mean nothing to Him. He knows your heart, and He loves you regardless of your title, financial net worth, or number of Instagram followers.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come and Belong,” General Conference, April 2020
When it was time to choose a successor for King Saul, the prophet Samuel traveled to the small town of Bethlehem. It was here that Ruth the Moabitess had settled because of her commitment to remain with her widowed mother-in-law. Ruth’s grandson Jesse lived in the city, and God told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons would be the next king.
Samuel was determined to obey the Lord, but he had a lot to learn. As Jesse and some of his sons approached, Samuel was impressed by Eliab. He looked to Samuel like a credible candidate. But the Lord had a message for his prophet:
Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
About 1,000 years later, the apostle Peter learned the same lesson. He wasn’t choosing a king. He was traveling up the coast to a city called Caesarea. A Roman centurion named Cornelius wanted to learn about the gospel. He was “a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway” (Acts 10:2), but Peter didn’t know any of that. What Peter knew was that this man was not Jewish, and that it was “an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation” (Acts 10:28).
But God wanted Peter to see things differently. From a vision, Peter had learned that he should “not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). When he heard about Cornelius’s spiritual experiences, Peter proclaimed:
Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Acts 10:34-35
The phrase “respecter of persons” in this passage is a translation of a single Greek word: prosópolémptés (προσωπολήπ). It is a combination of the word prosópon (πρόσωπον), “countenance,” and the word lambanó (λαμβάνω), “to take” or “to receive.” God isn’t a “countenance-taker.” He doesn’t judge us based on appearances, and He does not show partiality or bias.
Nephi taught this same principle to his brothers as they questioned why their family had been led away from Jerusalem: “Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God” (1 Nephi 17:35).
If God is no respecter of persons, then it follows that we should not be either. After the death of King Mosiah, members of the church experienced increased prosperity and tried to share their increased wealth equitably:
They did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.
Alma 1:30
And their high priest, Alma, followed the same pattern in his spiritual ministry. He would speak with any group of people who wanted to hear his message, “without any respect of persons, continually” (Alma 16:14).
Today, I will strive to follow God’s example of impartiality. I will strive to treat all people as children of God and to be kind to everyone, without regard for worldly indicators of success.