We live in a society of double standards. From the highest levels of our government to the lowest levels of employment, double standards are so common that it has become an accepted practice in our American society—but that does not make it right. It is an evil practice that demonstrates the wickedness of every human that walks on the face of this earth. Here are just a few of the verses of Scripture that prohibit bribery, favoritism and partiality, which always leads to double standards.
“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly” (Leviticus 19:15). “Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God” (Deuteronomy 1:17). “Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous” (Deuteronomy 16:19). “Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery” (2 Chronicles 19:7). “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism” (1 Timothy 5:21).
Jesus said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23:2-4). The Pharisees had rules for the people to follow, but they don’t keep these same rules themselves. And that is what happens in our society today, we all have a tendency to make up rules for people to follow, but we cannot keep these same rules ourselves. And in doing this we end up being hypocrites.
A good example of this is when a new business moves into town and competes with an established local business. Many times the established business owner doesn’t want any competition, but it is usually okay if the new business competes with some other business. This kind of attitude demonstrates a double standard. And the motivation for this is usually arrogance and greed. Being afraid of competition is a lack of faith. Paul said, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
There is one other thing that most people forget about competition. If you stifle competition you will automatically stifle growth. Most business owners want their city to grow so that they can have more business, which leads to more tax dollars for city improvement. They want better schools and streets, but they do not want any of the city growth to compete with their business. Again we come up with that double standard.
Double standards are very common in every political system in the world; there are no exceptions. It is easy to see the double standards that are put into place by both large and small businesses. But before we get too self-righteous, we need to look at ourselves; we all have the tendency to want a special standard for ourselves. And double standards always show a lack of integrity and faith.
A man was being offered a job as the police chief of a small town. During the interview he asked this question: “Before I take the job I want to know the names of the people in this town that I cannot stop for speeding, running stop signs, or anything else because of their wealth or social standing?” This man understood double standards well!
When Peter went to Antioch to visit Paul, Barnabus and the other Christians, he was eating and drinking with them. But when some men came up from Jerusalem, Peter separated himself from the Gentiles, because he was afraid of what these men would think of him. Barnabus also got caught up with this. Paul stood up against Peter and said, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?” (Galatians 2:11-14). Even the apostles were guilty of setting double standards.
There are business owners who believe that they should always buy their cars, trucks, planes, houses, etc. at the very lowest price they can get them for. They shop all over the area for the best deal they can find, sometimes going several hundred miles out of their area to get that “best deal.” And yet, these same business owners will try to get everyone in their local area to shop with them, calling those who go out of town—to shop for a better bargain—a traitor or cheapskate. Again we see men and women setting up rules for others to follow, but at the same time not following their own set of rules.
When asked to judge the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). It is common for us to make up a set of rules that we believe others ought to follow in their businesses, but it also is common for us to break our own rules. It is easy for us to judge others for doing things that we don’t like, but if we are not careful, we will find ourselves doing the same things we criticize others for.
Whether we allow ourselves to get caught up into this evil practice of double standards is a choice we make every day of our lives. “A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice” (Proverbs 17:23).