Truly privileged

The word privilege is used in our culture today for a variety of reasons but mostly to define benefits given to people of a certain race or income level. This isn’t a political or social blog so I will be using that word as it is used in the dictionary. That said, the use of the word in our current culture has served as a reminder that I am a truly privileged human being.

In Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, privilege is “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor.”  

The day I became a child of God, I received the highest honor and privilege I will ever have. It is a privilege offered equally, to everyone on this planet. It is the reason why every Christian should see themselves as a person who is truly privileged. We have been granted unique and eternal favor. 

What are the privileges granted to Christians? 

Christians can be found in countries around the world and come from every race of people and every socioeconomic standing. Christ came to bring God’s peace and unity to all believers. It is profoundly touching that in his last moments on earth Jesus chose to pray for all of us, asking his Father to help us find unity with God and with one another (John 17). 

This world will never be completely fair, and every human being has a sin nature that causes division and false judgment. Every human being has “sinned and fallen short” of the glory that God would have designed for our lives. Knowing that truth doesn’t mean we should resign ourselves to being less than God wants us to be. The Holy Spirit is the character of Christ given to every believer. We can always seek to live according to the Spirit’s leadership. None of us will be perfect, but all of us can do better. 

The apostle Paul put it this way: 

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:12–17) 

The high and holy privileges granted to Christians are the result of our adoption by God. He is our Father. We are “fellow heirs” with Jesus and blessed by the filling of God’s Holy Spirit. Everyone who has made Jesus their Lord and Savior can look in the mirror and see a truly privileged person reflected there. 

Christians have been privileged with the promise of: 

  • Eternal life (Revelation 22:14)
  • Eternal health (Philippians 3:20–21)
  • An eternal home (John 14:2)
  • A new and perfect life without pain, sadness, guilt, debt, sin, disease, and grief (Revelation 21)

I know that walking with God enhances our earthly lives, but our eternal promises don’t always apply to life this side of heaven. This life is temporary and subject to illness, disease, and sin. Jesus actually promised “tribulation” here on earth. The great privilege we can claim for each day is the hope that Jesus promised we will “overcome” this life and exchange it for the perfect life he described as heaven. 

Why will God hold us accountable for the privileges he has given us? 

I know that my life on earth is privileged as well. I had two parents who loved me, cared for me, and worked hard to provide for me. Neither of them came from opportunity, but they made sure that I would.  

I’m also privileged to have attended churches that taught me God’s word and encouraged me to walk with God. I’m privileged to have had pastors, teachers, and friends who strengthened my faith journey and helped me know God at deeper levels.  

I’m greatly privileged to have married the man God chose for me. No one who truly knows us would say we have had an easy life, but those same people could point to God’s abundant blessings. It is our great privilege to be in ministry and serve God as we serve others. 

The great privilege of ministry also comes with great accountability. Jesus was teaching a parable on this subject when he said, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:21). 

As Christians, we can know that there will be times when serving God and others will be truly exhausting. In fact, ministry is almost impossible to do apart from the filling of God’s strength and wisdom. The fact that it is difficult doesn’t mean we aren’t truly privileged to serve. Jesus is our high and holy example of what it means to live a sacrificial life of service. Our lives should always be lived with his example as our standard. 

We will never outwork or outgive God. Whatever we are called by God’s Holy Spirit to accomplish in this life is God’s path of blessing for us, now and eternally. 

We are called to share all that we have been privileged to receive 

I know some people will read my words and think I don’t understand. Truthfully, I don’t understand because I haven’t walked in their shoes. Some truths in this life are only learned by living them.  

We all have a story, and everyone’s story is unique. I was born into opportunities that I didn’t earn. I was taught to do my best to use the opportunities that I was given. I know that my life is a product of great privilege and I do not know who I would be had I been born into different circumstances. I also know that my greatest privileges are the result of my salvation in Christ. 

I am deeply grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. I know I am accountable to God to use my opportunities in this life, to share the gospel message and the promise of heaven with everyone I can. To whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48). 

If you are a Christian, you are truly privileged. 

Whom will you share your privileges with this week?

St. Peter’s scale

Wasn’t it nice to wake up this morning to ads about insurance and toothpaste instead of ads about political candidates? 

I voted early this time and then kept the remote nearby so I could reach the mute button. As I write these words, I don’t know how the midterms will turn out. Hopefully, there won’t be any runoff elections in Texas. I think the mute button on my remote is wearing out! 

As you read these words, you have probably heard reports of the election results. I don’t need to hear the statistics to write this blog post. I already know that half the country is happy and the other half is disappointed. Those feelings will be reflected in the faces we see today in our neighborhoods, places of business, and anywhere else we go. Hopefully, your home is of the same opinion, but even that isn’t guaranteed for everyone. 

One thing is certain: it would be good to remember that the volume of our witness today will be set on high. Whether your candidates won or lost, people will be gauging your response. 

Wise counsel from Hebrews

This is a good day to walk in the counsel of Hebrews 12:14 which says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” 

Politics matter. Elections matter. But neither matters as much as helping people know the Lord. 

The words of our witness today will be wiser if we allow Hebrews 12:14 to frame them. Picture a big box with a locked lid sitting next to a door. Imagine gathering your prideful thoughts, sinful thoughts, disappointments, and slander and then choosing to lock up every word produced from your natural self in that box before you step into your day. 

How will your day turn out differently if you strive for peace with everyone? How many arguments or angry discussions can you avoid if you strive to be holy? Who will be impressed with your “peace” even if they disagree with your politics? 

One thing I am certain of, even though I am not yet certain about the elections, is this: when we woke up this morning, God was still on his throne and his plans and promises are still in place.  

Our faith is supposed to be an effort

Sometimes I wish it were easier to be a Christian in our culture. Then I remember what first-century Christians endured.

I remember what many Christians who first came to this country endured before and after their arrival. And, if you simply google “Christian persecution in the world” today, you will find the numbers shocking. 

It is easy to be a Christian in our culture today compared to so many others. It just isn’t as easy as it was a few years ago. Interestingly, our Christian witness is getting a LOT more attention from the culture. That can be good and bad.  

Peter wrote counsel to the early church that was very similar to the author of Hebrews. The Apostle wrote, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5–8). 

There is a key phrase in that important passage that describes a Christian’s highest effort. If this became our great effort, we would live with a powerful witness to our culture. That phrase is how we can measure our day today and our lives. The phrase is: “If these qualities are yours and are increasing.”  

Our great effort for today is to continually grow into the holiness Peter described. We need to do better this month than we did last month. We need to have a stronger witness for Christ this year than we did last year.  

How do you typically measure your spiritual growth?  

If we could step onto Saint Peter’s scale

Some people step on their bathroom scale every day to see what they weigh. Some people step on their scales less often. Some people aren’t sure if they still own a bathroom scale. Our weight usually fluctuates, especially in these next two months! 

We don’t really need the scale to tell us what our waistbands are already shouting. Most of us will step on a scale, at least once in a while, hoping that maybe there is another explanation for the tighter fit. Maybe the dryer was too hot or maybe the fabric continues to shrink? Maybe the scale needs new batteries or maybe the settings are no longer working. (I’ve got a million of these ideas!) 

But my real point is this: If St. Peter could have created a scale to measure spiritual growth, would we buy one, use it, and believe it? 

If St. Peter’s scale registered “faith and virtue,” would we be overweight or underweight? If St. Peter’s scale measured “self-control and steadfastness,” would we be ejected from it? If St. Peter’s scale weighed our “godliness, holiness and love,” how far would the needle swing? 

The real point of St. Peter’s scale is whether or not we are gaining. 

Let’s make every effort to live like St. Peter taught

You will likely have an opportunity today to “increase” the standards of your faith and express the virtues Peter listed. Every day is an opportunity to “strive for” the peace and holiness that will help others know the Lord. 

If Bed Bath & Beyond sold St. Peter’s scale, I would buy it. I would keep it someplace where I would see it often. Yet I can’t help but wonder if I would treat it like my bathroom scale and try to explain away the numbers. 

That picture might be just what we need to live this day with the wise counsel from Hebrews 12:14. The good news about St. Peter’s scale is that “increasing” measurements are a good thing! 

So, let’s get out there and live like Christians . . . and hopefully our witness will weigh more tomorrow than it does today.