Deuteronomy 10:17

Moses is speaking to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land, reminding them of who their God truly is. In a world full of deities worshiped by surrounding nations — gods who could be appeased with the right rituals or bought with the right offerings — Israel's God is presented as categorically different. He is supreme over every power, not one deity among many but the source of all authority. The phrase "shows no partiality" would have been startling in ancient cultures where even earthly courts could be bought and favor was routinely sold. God's justice, Moses insists, is not for sale — and his attention is not reserved for the powerful.

Lord of lords, you are not moved by résumés or religious track records, and your justice doesn't bend for anyone. Thank you that your love isn't earned and your attention isn't for sale. Help me receive that fully — and treat every person I meet as someone equally seen by you. Amen.

Think about how many systems you navigate that quietly run on favoritism — who you know, what you can offer, how polished you appear. Even religious communities can slip into rewarding the generous donor, the well-connected family, the long-tenured member. Moses drops this declaration into a world saturated with transactional spirituality, where gods were managed and courts were purchased, and says flatly: your God doesn't operate that way. He is "mighty and awesome" — and unbribable. That's a combination almost nobody in the ancient world had ever imagined. That's either deeply comforting or quietly unsettling, depending on where you stand today. It means no amount of religious performance earns you a better seat. The person who's been in church forty years and the one who wandered in last Sunday occupy the same ground before God. If you've built your sense of worth on being good enough, this levels something you were counting on. But if you've ever felt like you didn't have enough to offer — not enough faith, not enough history, not enough of whatever you thought was required — this verse is speaking directly to you.