My Privilege

My brother John recently asked me a rather bizarre question:

“Did I ever tell you about the time we met Aunt Jemima?”

“Huh?”

“Dad took Mike and me to breakfast with Aunt Jemima!”

Back in the 1950s and 60s the pancake company marketed their product with traveling tours by Aunt Jemima.  Recording star and radio actress Edith Wilson played the big role.

I was too young, or not born yet, when my Dad put my two older brothers in the car and drove to an event somewhere in the Northwest, hosted by the Knights of Columbus at church or the Rotary club or some business group he was involved in.

John told me how he and Mike sat on Aunt Jemima’s lap as she fed them pancakes and syrup.

At one point during the breakfast, John says Dad leaned over to the two boys and said, “She is worth more than anybody in this building.”

Then he added, “Good for her.  Good for her.”

I want to talk about privilege.  I get it, I am white - I am aware.  And I also recognize that I am male.  I try to deny it, but I also admit I am old-er!  Still, I’d like to talk about privilege. 

Privilege historically was a pretty harmless term, but it has recently been weaponized to club one group of people with great shame because they have some of it.  And it is also used to bring shame on the rest of folks who may not have much, as they are told they will never be able to rise above their lack.

I’ve got some bad news and some good news.  The bad news is just about everyone is feeling pretty uncomfortable right now.  Here’s the good news.  The Apostle Paul deals directly and indirectly with this privilege issue.

There’s a lot of talk about privilege.  Lots of articles and news stories and conversations have been had, but I haven’t heard anyone look at what the New Testament says about it.  So let’s look.

In his letter to the people in Ephesus—a town where he was involved in a confusing riot—the Apostle Paul writes:

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.

Ephesians 2:1 (NLT)

We were dead. No privilege!

You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world… All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:2-7 (NLT)

We were dead, we had no privilege, but God raised us with Jesus.  

Then Paul get to this famous statement:

 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)

One of the reasons why privilege is such a touchy topic is we want to take credit for the good stuff in our lives. We have worked hard, sacrificed, toiled, built a life and we want that to count for something.

But Paul says we don’t get credit.  Over in Philippians chapter 3 he says he counts all of his so-called privilege as garbage, rubbish, useless.

Then he says none of us can boast about our salvation.

Can you imagine what heaven would be like if we all walked around boasting?  “Do you know who I am?  I’m kind of a big deal…”

Have you watched that sitcom, “The Good Place” with Ted Danson and Kristen Bell?  The scene is the afterlife, where people show up to a sort-of utopia based on their good works.  But the good place is filled with an abundance of bragging and arrogance.  I am going to spoil part of it for some of you:  It turns out that the good place is really a form of torture in the bad place. 

There is no credit and no boasting.

Then Paul states: 

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)

Paul insists, “We are God’s masterpiece…”  You are a masterpiece.

We want parity, sameness, uniformity.  God wants masterpieces.

I was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho.  My mom was very clear - she called it a mistake. Paul says it was part of God’s masterpiece.

I was born the fifth child of seven, the youngest boy. Birth-order experts call that a mess, Paul calls it a masterpiece.

I was born to a mom who struggled with alcoholism.  My dad didn’t struggle with it, he just drank consistently. He was a high-functioning drinker from an alcoholic family himself.  Counselors would call that a problem, Paul says it’s just part of a masterpiece.

I was, for at least a couple years in childhood, a fat kid - I grew out before I grew up.  Doctors called that metabolism.  My friends called that - I’m not going to tell you what they called me!  Paul calls it a masterpiece.

I went to eight schools in seven years. Teachers would call that a tragedy. Paul calls it a masterpiece.

Do you know what all of those childhood issues have in common?  

First, they were not my call.  If I had a choice, I suspect I would have gone in a different direction.  Life isn’t like ordering a sandwich at a Subway.  We don’t get to decide, “I’ll have the white bread…” You take what you get, and you say, “Thank you.”

If someone shames you for your privilege, it is fine to respond with, “Oh, that’s above my pay grade.  Perhaps you would like to speak with my boss?”  Or you can say, “I’m hoping to overcome it.”

And if you shame someone for their privilege - or lack of - it shows that perhaps you don’t know much about history, don’t know much biology, don’t know much about a science book, don’t know much about geography or genetics or demographics or…

The other commonality those things have in common is they aren’t my entire story. My son says, “Dad, you were a train wreck.  But that’s not the end of your story.” 

I wasn’t destined to become a fat alcoholic in Eastern Idaho. God wants to make me into a masterpiece.

That’s not the end of the story. Paul goes on:

For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us… He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

Ephesians 2:14-16 (NLT)

Jesus broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.

Then Paul explains privilege:

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.   Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

Ephesians 3:6-8 (NLT)

Any privilege we have was given to us to serve. Any privilege we lack is designed to help us serve.

 Privilege is for service.

If you’ve been given great advantages, good for you. Those were given to you so you can serve others.

If you were denied privileges, that happened so you could serve.

If we use our privilege or lack for selfish gain, we will never, ever find satisfaction.  But if we take what God gave us, and serve, we will move closer to the masterpiece God meant for us.

There is a popular video making the rounds on social media that explains privilege through a $100 race.  Maybe you have seen it.  A coach or school teacher lines up some teenagers for a race, but then he announces that if your home had both parents you could take two steps forward, and if you went to private school, you could take two steps forward.  He walks through seven or eight of these scenarios.  Then the coach explains how some people have a head start.  The video has a ton of views, it evokes some empathy and it makes just about everyone feel pretty bad.

That video is good as far as it goes, it just doesn’t go very far.  

First, life, if it is a race, isn’t a sprint. Life, if anything is a marathon - or an ultra-marathon.  The head start isn’t the full story.

Second, if life is a race, isn’t all about money.  If you are racing for money, you’re at the wrong track meet. 

Third, if life is a race, it isn’t about all of us trying to get one $100 bill.  That scarcity mentality doesn’t mesh with Jesus’ promise of an abundant life, and it goes against Paul’s teaching that God…  

…is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

Fourth, life if it is a race it is not against other people!  It if anything is a race where we help other people.

Lastly, life, if it is a, race is not about seeing who we can beat or pass, it is about us racing into that masterpiece that God created us to be, no matter where we start.

In John 21, after his resurrection, Jesus met with his disciples.  At one point, Peter points to John and says, “What about him Lord?”  Jesus replied twice, “What is that to you?” 

God knew what he was doing when he made you, and when he made me.  He gave us all the privilege we need to serve .

Good for you! Good for me!