What Privilege? - Proverbs 16:3

Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established. - Proverbs 16:3

    There was a recent video on Facebook regarding the latest social justice cause. Normally, I wouldn’t respond, but at the end of the video they tossed up a verse from Holy Scripture to kind of justify their erroneous position. With that I took exception!
    I’ll be forthcoming and as honest as I can possibly be regarding the truth contained within this post. Beyond the common grace He makes available to all men, God simply doesn’t always pave a road of ease and comfort for we who profess our faith in Him. So if a life of worldly health, wealth, and comfort isn’t necessarily “a given” to believers, then why do those who refuse to believe think that they are somehow being denied access to the finer things in life because of one social stigma or another? Why do they continue to blame others for their shortcomings? Why do they continue to blame their inability to obtain wealth, health, or fame on someone or some particular set of circumstances?
    Because Christians are made up of men and women from various backgrounds of race, ethnicity, social status, national origin and a number of other variables, many fall through these perceived “social safety nets.” There is no specific privilege assigned to any one of any distinction! No, faithful Christians are not expressly granted a life of ease because they are faithful. In fact, to be a Christian often means having quite a rough time of it - “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” - 2 Timothy 3:12
    So when people today make excuses for their failures or make strenuous attempts to place the blame for their inability to get ahead on someone else, we all need to put this rationalization in perspective.
    We are all born into different circumstances. We are all born with different strengths and weaknesses. We are all born with different advantages and disadvantages. In fact, we can safely say that in terms of equality it is our differences which make us equal - we are all equally different! What takes place between or births and deaths may be radically different, but we’re all born equal. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:28. Equality only exists in regard to our relationship to Jesus Christ! If however, we deliberately choose not to find our equality in Jesus, then indeed, our differences will be manifest. And at that unbecoming stage, our differences and disadvantages will certainly make their marks felt. If God doesn’t grant worldly advantages to a believer, then why do unbelievers think there is an unfair disparity between men and women and the stations of life they find themselves in? Note that there is no Scriptural command to divest ourselves of our possessions and give them to someone else! What Scripture commands is that we humble ourselves - “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time . . .” - 1 Peter 5:6. Regarding Christ’s words to the young ruler - Jesus was not commanding the man to go, sell everything he had, and follow Him; He was testing the young ruler’s heart! Christ’s test applies to us all, rich and poor alike! To follow Christ, we may have to surrender that which we hold most valuable.
    In “The Root,” an online magazine of African-American culture, an article entitled, “Hey, Media: White People Are Poor Too,” the article stated, “According to Census figures in 2013, 18.9 million whites are poor. That’s 8 million more poor white people than poor black people, and more than 5 million more than those who identify as Latino. A majority of those benefitting from programs like food stamps and Medicaid are white, too.”  I mention these statistics only to break the subversive suggestion that there is a “privilege” associated with one’s skin color. God knows no such distinction. “For there is no respect of persons with God.” - Romans 2:11. This passage does not imply that God doesn’t respect human beings; it merely means that to God it doesn’t make any difference if one is poor or rich, Black or White, male or female, Jew or Gentile!
    To suggest that the Gospel somehow has the power to “liberate” us from our social circumstances is sheer folly - there is no such Gospel! There is no social aspect to the Gospel. There is only the Cross! And you cannot correctly exegete or extrapolate a message of social justice from the Cross of Jesus Christ! The core of the Gospel is the Cross, both Christ’s . . . and ours! “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” - Luke 9:23. Does that sound like an invitation to a life of wealth, comfort, and fame? The cry is currently about privilege and advantage. Here is the unvarnished truth according to Holy Scripture: we are all fallen sinners born into a fallen and sinful world. Could someone please tell me where the advantage or privilege is in that? It is no revelation that there will always be someone who will take advantage of this; it merely confirms the prior statement.
    We must all come to terms with our individual circumstances and stop coveting that which we do not have or can not earn for ourselves. What we want in this life eludes us for one of two very specific reasons - we have not asked - “Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” - James 4:2-3. And we do not have because It is simply not God’s will that we have what we desire - “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” - 1 John 5:14.
    As I stated earlier, barring the common grace bestowed upon all men and women, our days of sunshine and of rain are not the determiners of our circumstances - God is. And if God determines who, what, and where we are in our lives, doesn’t it behoove us to honor and glorify Him? “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” - Hebrews 11:6.
    Perhaps all of us, Black, White, Hispanic, and all the other races and people in every situation should remember the words of Paul, who says it best - “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” -Philippians 4:11-13.
    May we all come to the understanding that God, and God alone, determines our lives and our fates. And dishonestly tossing a verse of Scripture out as a Divine stamp of approval on a social justice cause does nothing to curtail God’s sovereignty! We will all live our lives in the place God has declared for us.