It is a privilege to be alive! You did not ask to be here. You had no say in the matter. But here you are. You have parents you did not choose. You have a birthday that you did not ask for. All these unmerited privileges, and more, define you.
The central fact about privilege is that you have done nothing to deserve it. It comes unbidden. Some may envy you for your privileges, others may thank God that they were not born in your shoes. But nobody can change places with you. Your privileges are yours alone to use—either for good or for ill.
Being born is the first and foremost privilege. Not everyone has it. Every day in America 2,362 children are aborted before they are born. You are alive today because you are privileged to have a mother who carried you to birth.
You live in the year 2020. You didn’t choose this time. It chose you. You live in America where millions of people around the globe want to be. Living in America, and particularly in Wyoming, is an undeserved privilege.
A person’s home life is also a privilege of birth. Married, biological parents give a life-long advantage to those lucky enough to have them. They impart both emotional and material advantages.
Your parents also introduced you to your faith and taught you a worldview. They determined the neighborhood where you grew up. This, in turn, contributed to the way you view neighbors and authorities. It also influenced the quality of your education.
As we look at our privileges, we notice two things: first, we had no control over them; second, they make us different from other people. Sometimes the differences are advantageous, sometimes disadvantageous. How shall we think about this? And what shall we do?
There are two ways of approaching privilege. One is to envy other people for the advantages they have, and that you don’t. We can dwell on disadvantages that we did nothing to deserve. This will make us bitter and envious but cannot change our situation. It only blinds us to the advantages that we do have.
The other option is to focus on the advantages. Thank God for the privileges that you do have. The fact that you are alive, that you have people in your life who love you and that you have opportunities to work and love and care are also privileges that you do not deserve. They are pure gifts. They are not the same gifts that others have. But they are yours and they are priceless.
In thankfulness for these undeserved gifts, how shall we use them? Love for our neighbor calls us to extend advantageous privileges to as many as possible. It impels us to work at preventing circumstances that bring disadvantages to others.
That starts with life. We should be working together to give more and more people the privilege of being born. Because life is a gift, being pro-life is a duty. Similarly, because we can clearly see the privilege of those from stable homes and married parents, we should all work together to support and strengthen every marriage and every home.
We can also see that a good relationship with teachers, neighbors, police and other authorities gives some people privileges over others. For this reason, we should be working together to improve every person’s relationship with these people.
Because it is simply impossible to live in this world without knowing the truth about how it works, we are duty bound to keep science free from crippling ideologies. To live in a society with truthful education is a privilege that should be extended to all.
Most of all, it is a privilege to know the God who freely gives all these gifts. For that reason, we should all be in the business of promoting true religion. Study God’s Word. Support your church. Encourage others to learn. Fight for policies that make it easier—not harder—to live in faith.
Future generations will look at us and see all the undeserved privileges that we had. They will also judge how we used them.
Will they say that we used our privileges to create privileges for them? Or will they say that we squandered our privileges in selfish policies that disadvantaged them? We, the born, should help others have that same privilege. Those with privileged home life should work with those who do not to create the privilege of stable homes for the next generation.
You have been born for this moment. See it for the privilege that it is. Thank God that He has given you such a grand opportunity. Then use your privilege for your neighbor. That’s why God gave it.
Also published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, October 16, 2020.
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