Does God have favorite people?

I am an only child, so I grew up without the experience of parents having favorite children. My dad did and still does call me "his favorite daughter" and my daughter "his favorite grand daughter." It's cute, silly since we are the only girls, but sweet and his way of saying he loves us.

I have seen families that have favorite children. Favoritism hurts families.

In Genesis, Jacob had a favorite son. His name was Joseph. God changed Jacob's name to Israel because He was preparing that family to become a country. In Genesis 37:3 it says, 
"Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him."

The problem here was the all of Jacob aka Israel's children knew how he felt about Joseph, and it make it worse, he made him a coat of many colors. Jacob had 10 other sons at the time, and many daughters. In that day and time, the culture favored sons anyway, but usually, it was the oldest. The oldest was the judge of the family if problems arose. Jacob was the youngest of all of the sons.

That is what I've seen sometimes. The baby of the family is the favorite. Maybe the parents don't want the baby to grow up, so they favor them and enjoy them being the youngest. Or maybe they see mistakes they made with the oldest, so they change and try to do better but it looks like favoritism. 

Either way, we will connect on different levels with our children. They are all different. I know my three are. I do not have favorites. I was accused of it at one time... which I set the record straight right then. 

So, if God is our "Father in Heaven", then the Pastors, Youth Pastors, church staff, missionaries, deacons, etc must be His favorites, right? They are helping God's kingdom being built, right?

NOT SO!

In Romans 2, Paul wrote this in verses 9-11, "There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism."

A Gentile was any other race besides Jewish. The Jewish people are God's chosen, and they thought that God only loved them. They had to realize once Jesus came, died on the cross, and rose on the third day that this redemption was for everyone on earth. Not just the Jewish people. I think it is interesting that today's Jewish culture are still looking for Jesus. They do not believe He has come yet. 

In Acts chapter 10, Peter, who was one of Jesus' disciples, who actually learned under Jesus and walked with him for three years, was sent to a town by God to preach to Gentiles and tell them about Jesus. God sent a messenger to Cornelius, a Gentile, to tell him about Peter and invite Peter to his home. 

When Cornelius told Peter about his encounter, Peter said this in verses 34 & 35, "Then Peter began to speak, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right."

I worked at a church for three years. I loved my job. It wasn't until I was gone from there for a while that I realized in the back of my mind, I thought God approved or loved me more because of that job. How far from the truth that is! God loves me. Period. No matter where I work, or don't work. 

He loves you too. You do not have to be a certain kind of anything. He loves everyone just the same. You are here for a purpose. He has a plan for your life. And He loves you no matter what!

God doesn't bless certain people more than others. He doesn't play favorites, and neither should we.