Proverbs 28:21

To show partiality is not good— yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.

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Some verses in Proverbs stay popular because they’re just deadpan true. You read ’em and your spirit automatically nods: “I know that’s right.”

Proverbs 28:21 is one of those for me:

“To show partiality is not good — yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.”

That’s an oxymoron with a pulse. The verse literally says: • Partiality is wrong. • Also… everybody does it anyway — and for the smallest payoff imaginable.

The first half makes you nod. The second half makes you wince.

Because deep down, we know that showing preference, bias, or abusing privledge… it’s wrong. It’s crooked. It’s beneath what we truly are.

And yet — the minute we’re afraid… or ego wants a boost… or we think someone can give us a slice of approval, access, or advantage… we slip right into the partiality illusion without even thinking.

Almost like it’s reflex. Almost like it’s baked into human insecurity.

And here’s the deeper truth beneath the truth — (oh that rhymed…I gotta use that in a song)

Here’s the real deal:

We are not separate. Not from heaven’s perspective. Not from God’s perspective. Not in the deepest spiritual reality. Across time, continents, cultures, and categories — we are one human creation, one shared breath, one divine image.

Partiality is the illusion. Oneness is the actual architecture.

And Proverbs 28:21 exposes how easily we break unity for scraps.

That brings us to Isabel Wilkerson’s award-winning book Caste. She shows how societies often build invisible ladders — systems that rank people, assign value, distribute worth. And once you buy into that illusion, you’ll do wrong for the smallest “piece of bread”: • a nod from the “higher caste” • a moment of power • a feeling of superiority (and don’t forget spiritual superiority too) • a false sense of safety

Caste is humanity forgetting itself. Partiality is us participating in the illusion. We divide what God created as one, and hurt each other in the process.

But you know Jesus wasn’t having it! He treats “the least” like family. He treats “the enemy” like neighbor. He dismantles the illusion by acting from the deeper truth: If we are one, then to love another is to love myself… and to mistreat another is to shrink my own soul.

That’s the call here.

Honor the oneness. Reject the illusion. Stop trading away your integrity for crumbs.

💥 Beloved, Remember

Partiality makes the world small — and reduces the person who practices it.

Prayer

Heal my vision, Lord, so I see others as myself.

Today’s Challenge

Catch one moment where you instinctively “rank” someone — by looks, income, weight, race, age, politics, or vibe. Pause. Reverse it. Treat them like they carry the same divine spark you do. Because they do.

About the Author

Fred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch

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Be Wise and Be Well...peace.

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