This TV star shows us how to avoid favoritism at work
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4)
I’ve made no secret that I am a superfan of The West Wing. But I may be an even bigger fan of how well the show’s star, Martin Sheen, lived out today’s passage.
In a terrific memoir of the show, the cast shared how Sheen would shake the hand of each background artist (or “extra”) and learn their names before filming.
When “crew lunch” was first announced and those “extras” were sent to a separate area to eat, Sheen shut down this Hollywood habit, saying, “We’re all going to eat together.”
My favorite story came from a junior casting staffer who went to drop off something at Sheen’s trailer, not expecting the star to be there. Surprised to find Sheen eating lunch, the man apologized for the intrusion, but Sheen insisted that he pull up a chair and share his meal.
Martin Sheen’s actions on The West Wing set offer a compelling case study of what James is getting at in today’s passage—a refusal to show favoritism, even when hierarchy and status make it easy to do so.
This is a particularly relevant passage for us working professionals, as the workplace may be the easiest place to treat people differently based on whether or not they can serve us. But if we claim to follow Christ who came “not to be served, but to serve,” we will push back against favoritism in its many forms.
Here are a few ideas for how to do so practically.
#1: Learn the names of everyone you regularly see at work. Not just those in positions of power. I try to do this when speaking at events, going out of my way to learn the names of not just the event organizers who are paying me, but also the team in the tech booth, the worship leader, etc.
#2: Ask the relatively powerless to speak up in meetings. Even if, technically, everyone is welcome to voice their opinions, in my experience, junior employees rarely will unless you explicitly ask them to.
#3: Create Office Hours that anyone can access. When Deb Liu was running Ancestry.com, she had a recurring time on her calendar that was open for everyone from C-Suite leaders to interns to meet with her about anything.
#4: Prep equally well for meetings with superiors and subordinates. Don’t save your best prep for those who can serve you. Prep equally well for those you have been called to serve.
Those are just a few ways to live out James’s commands around favoritism and reveal God’s view of human worth to those we work with.
