Tag Archives: poverty

Privilege

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Privilege.

That’s a dirty word these days in almost every circle.

Some hate the word and all it represents because they have been belittled, oppressed, and marginalized by people they would say have experienced privilege.

There’s another group of people who get the privilege stamp placed on them by others, which is off-putting because they know that there are others better off than them or they feel like the word downplays the work they accomplished to get where they are.

And then there’s another group which tries to stay out of this fray altogether, knowing that it’s fraught with issues around every corner.

So what can be said about this topic then?  And what might it have to do with following Jesus in the real world?

What Is Privilege?

I think the picture above captures what many people think of when they think of privilege — a straight white man who is wearing a nice suit and has a nice watch.  Others may think of the same picture as above just with an older straight which man who is wearing a nice suit and has a nice watch.

But is this picture of privilege accurate?  Is it the only picture?  Is it the best picture?

Two of the three simple definitions provided by Merriam-Webster are instructive:

  • a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others
  • a special opportunity to do something that makes you proud
  • the advantage that wealthy and powerful people have over other people in a society

The first and last ones are most pertinent to the current popular discussions of privilege in our society at large.  Specifically what stands out to me are the ideas that privilege is what some people have and others don’t…and those “some people” are the “wealthy and powerful.”

How do others define privilege?

Christena Cleveland, a social psychologist who just so happens to be a follower of Jesus, defines privilege like this: “I think privilege is the ways in which society accommodates some people while alienating others” [SOURCE].

Her definition lines up with what we saw from the dictionary entry as well — privilege is for some and not others.  Her definition is all about relative wealth and power, not absolute wealth and power.  In other words, certain things about us cause society to accommodate for us more, things like education, wealth, political power, gender, sexual orientation, race, etc.  The more things someone has in the privilege column, the more likely it is that society will bend toward their wishes.

And in the clip I linked above, Dr. Cleveland makes the point that we can be both privileged and non-privileged at the same time.  Dr. Cleveland is a great example herself — she’s a hire-able, educated, and published scholar while also being a black woman.

Dr. Cleveland’s definition is in line with the scholarly norm.  Here’s a great example of this norm from the Society of Counseling Psychology:

Privilege is comprised of unearned advantages that are conferred on individuals based on membership in a dominant group or assumed membership. Privilege has the following characteristics:

  • Privilege reflects, reifies and supports dominant power structures.
  • Privilege is supported structurally and systemically, including an investment in maintaining a lack of consciousness about the benefits and costs resulting from that privilege.
  • Privilege is enacted through societal structures, systems, and daily interactions.
  • A single individual may experience intersecting privileges and oppressions which may reflect differential receipt of benefits.

Like the earlier definitions, this one uses the “some people and not others” type of language.  This definition also has some other interesting points.

First, privilege can be based on assumed membership to a group.  In my experience as a white man and as a friend of many other privileged people, this can be a major sticking point.  The argument goes something like this: “Just because I’m white doesn’t mean I was handed anything for free!”  In this line of reasoning this person is reacting to the assumption that he or she is part of the elite group of “fat cat” white people who run things, while in fact he or she hasn’t experienced life in that way at all.

Second, privilege holds up societal norms.  This was an assumption or logical conclusion of the earlier definitions, but it is spelled out here.  The logic is simple: if some groups tend to receive more accommodations than others, then it stands to reason that they will be over-represented among those with wealth and power.

Third, and most importantly, for the privileged there’s an advantage to be gained by not thinking about and/or outright denying privilege.  Why?  Because in so doing privilege is ensured to carry on unabated.  I know that when I first encountered the ideas of privilege in my early-to-mid 20s I reacted quite negatively.  And I’ve seen this same response among many other people I know.  In fact, this response is so common that it’s been given a name: white fragility (though we could add “male fragility,” “straight fragility,” etc. to the list).

Is Privilege Real?

Others have done a much better job than I have on this topic, so I will move quickly through this and trust that you’ll click the links and do some research of your own.

Here’s the question: Is privilege real?  Are there certain groups of people for whom our society seems to afford more accommodations than others?

The simple answer is “yes” and the evidence bears this out.

People of privilege are over-represented in corporate leadership, political leadership, acting roles, higher education, etc.

And people with relatively less privilege are over-represented in homeless communities, prisons, low-paying jobs, under-performing public schools, etc.

In other words, the verdict is in: privilege is real whether we would like for it to be or not.

So What Do We Do?

All of this begs an important question: what are we to do, especially as followers of Jesus?

Here are a few ideas:

  1. Get to know the God of the Bible.  From the early pages of the Bible to the very end we get a really clear idea that God cares deeply for those who have been oppressed, marginalized, overlooked, and forgotten.  A quick search of the Bible for words like “poor,” “poverty,” and “oppressed” will reveal this (in fact, for those of us who haven’t been exposed to the idea that God cares for the downcast, this exercise can be shocking).  A reading of the life of Jesus will show this to be the case as well.  Jesus regularly interacted with un-privileged people, such as women, children, Gentiles, the sick, the unclean, etc.  Thus, it appears that God has a clear concern for the un-privileged.
  2. Go out of the way to care for the un-privileged.  As I’ve written about before, in John 4 Jesus made a special trip through Samaria in order to talk to a very marginalized woman.  Furthermore, this woman is then clearly portrayed by John as a role model to be emulated by his readers!  This same scenario can be seen through all four of the Gospels.  Jesus quite clearly cared about the well-being of those who had been written off.  And, friends, the same is expected of us today too.  Those of us with privilege, any privilege at all, have an obligation to use it like Jesus did, for the benefit of others.  I mean, come on, who has ever been more privileged than Jesus?  The Second Person of the Trinity decided for our sakes to lay all of his advantages aside and became a slave for us (Philippians 2)?!?  That’s amazing!  And we are called to follow in his footsteps, however challenging that may be.
  3. But don’t ignore the privileged in the meantime.  While it’s certainly true that God clearly has a heart for those without much privilege and that Jesus constantly went out of his way to serve those who were marginalized, we are not therefore freed from loving, caring for, and ministering to those with privilege.  I think Jesus is the best example here: right after his interaction with the Samaritan Woman in John 4 (which I described briefly in point #2), Jesus then heals the child of an official from a neighboring city.  An official.  This was a man of privilege and Jesus didn’t ignore him.  And this man isn’t the only one — there’s Nicodemus, the centurion and his servant that Jesus healed, and the so-called “rich young ruler.”  Jesus didn’t ignore the privileged, but he didn’t base his ministry on serving them.  Maybe as churches in America we could do a better job of following Jesus instead of following our bottom lines.

So, privilege is real.  And while we may be tempted to go with the societal flow and serve and minister to the privileged first, that’s not the call of God from the pages of the Bible.  No!  His call, instead, is to care for the poor, the under-resourced, the oppressed, the forgotten, and those without privilege.  That doesn’t mean that those with privilege are to be ignored, they (including me!) just shouldn’t be the focus of all that we do as followers of Jesus!

 

What do you think?  How should the fact that privilege is real impact the way we follow Jesus?  Let me know in the comments below and please be kind and civil.  I actively monitor all comments.

Thanks!

The Power of Labels: Proverbs 14.31

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dustytoes / Pixabay

I was recently asked to do a devotional at a local, Christian, non-profit organization.  I jumped at the opportunity because I really believe in the work that this group does (justice-focused ministries for folks in my very neighborhood) and because I always love sharing from the Bible with people.

But as I started thinking and praying about what I wanted to talk about I started hitting a brick wall.  What can or should I say to a group of believers who care deeply and passionately about the tangible good news of the kingdom of God?  Should I do a cheerleader kind of devotional which will pat them all on their proverbial backs?  Should I challenge them to give more deeply to the cause of the gospel?  Or should I approach this all a bit differently?

I chose the latter — I chose to look at a biblical picture of how we are to interact with those who are oppressed, those who are in need.  I was hoping that this would be powerful for two reasons: 1) That it would give them some Scriptural validation for the work that they do; and 2) That they would in fact be challenged by the witness of the Bible with regard to those who are impoverished.

While there are hundreds and hundreds of verses about poverty, those who are in need, and God’s opinion toward those who are oppressed, some verses are more powerful to me than others.  As I was trying to decide which of these verses to select, I went over to World Vision’s website and read through some of the verses regarding poverty that they highlight there.

Proverbs 14.31 stood out.  Here it is: “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

The very first thing that ran through my head when I read this verse anew was how it connected with Matthew 25.37-40.  There, as in Proverbs 14, the way that the oppressed are treated reflects back on God himself.  To put it differently, those who are poor and God are specially connected.  In fact, I think that we can safely say that when we look into the lives of those who are in need we catch a glimpse of God’s character that we can’t see elsewhere.  And we can say with great confidence that God cares deeply about how those who are impoverished are treated.

As I was unpacking these ideas with the group at the non-profit most of the non-verbal feedback I got was positive.  I felt that I had taken the correct approach.  So I continued talking as I had planned.  I used the language of the text in Proverbs 14 as I talked, namely “poor” and “needy,” and didn’t think twice about it.

Then after I finished my devotional one of the members of the team, whom I greatly respect and I count as a true ally in the work of the kingdom, noted that he didn’t like the word “poor” all that much, even though the Bible uses it a bunch.  After he said this, many others agreed heartily!  They pointed out, rightly so, that the words “poor” and “needy” are judgmental, or at least they can be percieved to be so.  For some people being labeled as “poor” or “needy” brings with it shame and/or frustration.

Some of the preferred words that were shared with me were “vulnerable,” “marginalized,” and “underprivileged.”  I’m happy with all of these terms because they do tend to be less judgmental.

However, the text in Proverbs 14 might help here a bit.  The Hebrew word, dal, that the NIV renders “poor,” is an evocative word.  It means “one who is low” or “one who is thin.”  When applied in different contexts, this word can be translated as “weak” or “poor.”  The implication seems to be that the pressures of life, injustice, and oppression can press people down and squeeze them.

When I shared this lexical information with the folks who worked at the non-profit they seemed excited about it!  They were all aware, either personally or through those whom they served, that lots and lots of people in our world are “squeezed” beyond belief.

The word in the second half of the verse, which in Hebrew is ebyon, is different.  It is more clearly to be understood as “one who is in material need,” i.e., it really does mean “poor” as in “doesn’t have much money or many possessions.”  Sometimes, of course, the context of a passage may lead one to translate ebyon as “oppressed” but that is natural enough: all throughout history those who don’t have much have been taken advantage of by others.

However, because the two words are presented as synonyms in tandem, the more specific word, elyon, controls the meaning of the less specific word, dal.  Thus, both words do have a material context.  Both have to do with folks who are in need financially.  However, it would be wise of us to use words that are less shame- and frustration-inducing.  Perhaps instead of using “poor” we can use “dejected.”  And instead of “needy” we can use “person in need.”

Lastly, how does the text encourage us to interact with the dejected and those in need?  The NIV says that we are “to be kind” to them.  This translation isn’t all that good in my opinion.  The basic meaning of this word, hanan in Hebrew, is to show favor or grace.  In other words, God’s word is calling us to yearn toward the poor, to extend to them tangible expressions of the love and mercy God has shown to us.  And one simple way we can show grace toward those who are poor is to use the least offensive words to describe them as possible.

The labels we use are important, especially when they are used of people.  It’s well past time that we used more discretion when applying labels to human beings!