PRIVILEGE

EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, HOUSING, NUTRITION, FAMILY, EMPLOYMENT, SAFETY, TRANSPORTATION, WORSHIP, SPARE CHANGE

AND THE LIST GOES ON!

The definition of privilege is “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.” Merriam-Webster defines it as “ a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor.” I recently watched a short video on privilege on Youtube which is worth the five minutes it will take to watch.

https://youtu.be/4K5fbQ1-zps

I never really thought of myself as privileged. Our family was not wealthy, well educated, or widely traveled so I considered us on the low end of the middle class America scale. Lots of room for as they say, “movin’ on up…..” This mini documentary has made me rethink my thinking. I was and I am very privileged because I was able to move forward with every question except two or three. What a head start I was given through NO EFFORTS of my own. My jump on life was a GIFT to me from above. I have taken this for granted my entire life. Life is not fair. Why does God chose one to prosper and allow another to struggle? Why was I born in America and not in Uganda? Why is another, who is as “fearfully and wonderfully made” as me, given a life of hardship and abuse while I live a life of ease?

The answer to these and a thousand other similar questions racing through my mind can only be answered by this: Acts 17:26-29 “And (He) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.  29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”

Jesus, Himself, was born in a stable, to poor parents, worked long and hard in a carpenter shop, was an itinerant preacher, died as a criminal, and was buried in a borrowed tomb. He reached out to the disenfranchised, the outcast, the weak, the sick, and the hurting. The “privileged” ignored him, hated him, and abused him. He told us (the church) to love like He did. (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45) I don’t see a lot of this happening. We rather go around the world or across the nation to “spread the gospel” than cross the street to the neighbors or associate with someone whose ideology is different from our own. The church is so divided it cannot stand and the world watches and wants no part of us. Jesus was an advocate. He fought for the rights of the lowly “that they might have life and life abundantly.” I do not like confrontation but Jesus said He came to bring a sword, (Matthew 10:34) and He said, “Follow me.” (Matthew 4:19, 16:24, 19:21, Mark 8:34-37)

We the privileged are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. (Matthew 10:42) We are to make a difference in the lives of another to give them the boost they need to the front of the line. Martin Luther King, Jr had a dream: A dream that “one day he and his children would live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” He fought for what was right and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus taught how to live with character and became the sacrifice for us to be able to have His character: Humility. The Holy one of heaven, gave His privilege to us. (John 1:12, Ephesians 2:3-9)

We Americans, like the Jews of the Bible, think we are something special. (Deuteronomy 7:6) And we are a very blessed nation. May we remember and give thanks to God for this His calling on our nation but may we never look down on others as “less than.” May our pride be in Christ alone, for we “are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus..

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:26-29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I2csO7_pOI

Do Something, by Matthew West

We need to be careful of voicing “entitlement” and expectation. It is slap in the face of God who gives us everything. May we be grateful for all we have and not compare ourselves to others. I am so thankful for opportunities I never expected and were simply gifted to me. Thank you Lord for your many graces.