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Evangelicals & Partiality

Writer's picture: Ricky KylesRicky Kyles

My brothers and sisters, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:8).


But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party (Galatians 2:11-12).


So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality

(Acts 10:34).


The Way to Stop Discriminating on the Basis of Race is to Stop Discriminating on the Basis of Race (John Roberts, Supreme Court Chief Justice).


I have repeated this quote from Chief Justice John Roberts to numerous people. Roberts’ logic is irrefutable. The only way to end legal discrimination is to stop legally discriminating. For nineteen years, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has allowed a practice it fully understood violated the US Constitution.


Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor openly acknowledged such as part of the public record. She reasoned it should be necessary for twenty-five years, and it was allowed to stand for nineteen years. In 2003 O’Connor said, “We expect 25 years from now, the used of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today.


Fast forward nineteen years, the Supreme Court ruled that institutions of higher learning could no longer use race as a determinant in admission criteria. Social media was replete with slights toward Justice Clarence Thomas’ past admission to Holy Cross in 1968 as if that truth should have any bearing whatsoever in Justice Thomas’ present-day obligation to interpret laws in light of the Constitution.


As a small aside, I was similarly attacked in private conversations because I was a direct benefactor of Affirmative Action as I attended Northern Illinois University in 1986. My retort to this accusation was quite simple:


When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways (1 Corinthians 13:11)


Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).


Similar to the irrelevance of Justice Thomas’ admission history in 1968, my use of Affirmative Action in 1986 has no bearing whatsoever on my present-day thinking. I cannot change what I believed in 1986 when I was eighteen. Thankfully God holds me responsible for what I presently think regarding any given matter.


Today, I believe, at its finest, America is the land where a person has the greatest opportunity to flourish. Asian Americans have flourished because they have consciously decided to excel academically. Consequently, they should not be denied to reap the fruits of their labor.


Jason Riley documents this reality in his book Please Stop Helping Us. Riley writes about Asian high school students gaining admission to New York's prestigious charter schools, which based their admissions on entrance exams. Asian parents proactively had their children study on the weekend to prepare for the entrance exams, and they scored exceptionally high and thus gained admittance at a rate disproportionately high to their percentage of the overall population in New York. African American and Hispanic students and even Caucasian students had the same opportunity.


These Asian students were not necessarily economically advantaged, so the discriminating [discrimination is not inherently negative] factor was not money. The discriminating factors were attributes like hard work, parental involvement, and discipline. Principles Americans formerly held in the highest regard but principles that institutions like the Smithsonian Institute now posits as signs of oppression from the predominant European worldview.


It was high time the SCOTUS quit discriminating against the Asian community. Fellow Americans should applaud our Asian brethren for setting the academic bar high by putting in the hard work. That is the essence of American Fair Play. We rightly laud the Michael Jordans and Tiger Woods of the athletic community for their hard work and determination to reach the apex of their athletic pursuits.


I see no reasons not to do the same for our Asian brethren when they do excel in academics. They studied and prepared for the entrance exams in New York. Students of Color have the same opportunities to do so over the weekends instead of playing basketball or whatever else they choose to do with the same allotted amount of time each of us has to use our time productively or fritter away. You see, the Bible speaks to being wise stewards of our time, talents, and treasures.


When you factor in other attributes like Personal Agency and Meritocracy, the SCOTUS, if it was going to rule in a manner consistent with the US Constitution, had no choice but to rule in favor of the Asian plaintiffs.


I close with what I understand to be my most potent argument to agree with the SCOTUS: The Word of God! The Holy Writ forbids Partiality (see James 1:8, Galatians 2:11-12 and Acts 10:34). Maybe surprisingly to some, if you actually study the Bible and allow it to govern your conscience, you will realize God does not favor being rich or poor. God warns both so the poor do not enjoy any favored status with God.


Furthermore, the Bible reveals that God is no respecter of a person [Acts 10:34]. That clearly means concerning education; for instance, God has no preference for African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, or whatever ethnicity. All should be judged on their demonstrated ability, and each should be judged strictly on the merits of their qualification, period, full-stop, and end of story.


As a quick aside, this is why I remain flabbergasted, as I understand many will decry the disparity minorities have in academic preparation. Yet these are the very people who do not support School Choice, which would give minorities viable and proven better options to prepare them to be competitive in gaining admissions to the desired but highly competitive and selective places of higher learning.


I would be the first to acknowledge America has a deplorable record of its treatment of people of color in its past. The Supreme Court recognized this past grave injustice, so they consciously allowed racial preference to be given to African Americans to remedy past injustice. However, they readily acknowledged this allowance of racial preference had to have a finite shelf life. Justice O’Connor hypothesized the magic number would be twenty-five years. History will reveal the number came in at nineteen.


It is beyond the ability of a blog post like this to ferret out all of the machinations behind the thinking of the Justices back in 2003 and today, but suffice it to say there was always going to be a day when America had to reckon with the realization that Chief Justice Roberts' maxim had to become a reality.


I submit no one should take you seriously if you don’t accept the logic of the decision of the six Justices: The Way to Stop Discriminating on the Basis of Race is to Stop Discriminating on the Basis of Race.


As always, let me know what you think. Until then, keep your hands to the plow and seek to serve for an Audience of One.


With fear and trembling

Ricky V Kyles Sr. DEd.Min


P.S. Sometimes this week, Lord willing, I will publish my first new YouTube video. The topic will be similar to my thinking regarding Affirmative Action. The issue I will address will be Reparations and why I believe the calls for their implementation are biblically unwarranted.


I ask that you prayerfully consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and sharing my blogs and videos on your social media platforms.

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Gloria Thompson
Gloria Thompson
Jul 01, 2023

God makes no mistakes 🙏 for this world

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Dildred McCoy
Dildred McCoy
Jun 30, 2023

I read your post and I know that God does not favor the wealthy or poor any different, but my question is if an African American score the same or higher than white, Chinese or any other race , can one safely say the a person skin will not come into play.

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