I am a white American woman from an upper middle class family in a small southern town. I was born with a certain amount of privilege without doing anything to deserve it. I know this. But the race has highlighted privileges I enjoy that I never even realized I had.
I have the privilege to get into just about any country on this beautiful planet. I have met people who would give anything to go to some of the places I have visited. They call these countries home, yet have never stepped foot on the soil I have had the privilege to walk on. They are kept outside of places I have been welcomed into.
I have the privilege to ignore politics if I want to. I can turn a blind eye to what goes on in my government and what the people in power around the world are doing and know that I will be protected and relatively safe. I have met people who soak up politics like a sponge. They know everything happening in every country. Like one sweet man reminded me in Palestine “I wish life didn’t revolve around politics… but life revolves around water and public transportation and the safety of your children, and those things revolve around politics.” The decisions I make at the polls have a direct correlation to whether he has access to running water; whether I know that they do or not.
I have the privilege to freely worship whatever God I choose. I like to think I get this one right but honestly I often miss the mark. I get distracted by materialism and the things held in esteem by western culture or even the American Church and lose focus on Jesus, the one who truly matters. I take things for granted that churches around the world are being persecuted for. I have the privilege of proclaiming the good news of Christ who died for our sins. I have the privilege to share the good news that sets captives free!! I am struggling to implement a line I read in Nik Ripken’s The Insanity of God “Don’t ever give up in freedom that we would never give up in persecution! That is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!”
These privileges and the countless others I benefit from aren’t inherently bad, but not recognizing them for what they are and using them to be a voice for the less fortunate is the worst possible crime we can commit. “Slavery and Freedom have one thing in common, they’re both undeserved. The question then is: What will I do with the Freedom that I have?”
Never underestimate the power of people coming together. Listen to someone’s story! ESPECIALLY if it’s different than yours. Seek to understand BEFORE being understood. You don’t have to have a strong opinion on every matter, I know I sure don’t and I don’t want to! But figure out what’s important to you, figure out what the Bible says about it, and dig in.
We have a responsibility to use our privilege and our FREEDOM in CHRIST to help set captives free.
