Power and Privilege
“There are two sets of principles. They are the principles of power and privilege and the principles of truth and justice. If you pursue truth and justice it will always mean a diminution of power and privilege. If you pursue power and privilege, it will always be at the expense of truth and justice” — Chris Hedges
“Power and privilege assigns to those without it the task of paying for its excesses” — William Hageman
Scripture
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Phillippians 2:3-8
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12 NLT
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life [or power] for one’s friends. John 15:13 NLT
Story
I never knew how much power I had because a fish doesn’t know he is swimming in water. I was very used to the power I had and did not realize that others did not have the same power. Of course I knew that children in Ethiopia were starving, but they were so far away from me that it did not register. Privilege was only something that people more privileged than me had; it was not something that I had more of than others.
Lesson
People with greater privilege are more noticeable to us than people with less privilege.
Two identical seeds were planted. One was planted in rich soil and one was planted in sick soil. The plant in the rich soil grew up nice and big and yielded a lot of fruit. The plant in the sick soil barely grew and yielded only a little sickly fruit. Can the healthy plant mock the sickly plant? Did the healthy plant work hard to grow? Yes! But it worked hard in the context of a healthy environment. In the same way, we can appreciate the work we put into our success but must realize the positive results of our hard work are also the result of the privileged environment in which we worked.
Privilege leads to power. Privilege, and therefore power, are distributed non uniformly, even unfairly.
I used to think that I got to the place I am through my own hard work, risk taking, and smarts. But now I realize that my successes are just as much, or more, about the privileges and resultant power that were given me. As I began to think about privilege, I decided to list mine
Loving parents gave me confidence
I had a father and mother in my home and a family history of marriages that lasted
My family had enough money that my daily needs were always met and never at risk
I had positive role models besides my parents to guide me
People demonstrated hard work before me.
Introduction to Jesus helped me make wise choices
Shelter and water were always readily available
Meeting basic needs allowed me to focus on my education
I was able to get one undergraduate and two graduate degrees.
I never worried that the police would extract a bribe from me
I never worried that the police would assume I was doing wrong because of the way I looked.
Having a race that is part of the most powerful in America afforded me certain opportunities
I don’t worry about my property rights
There is adequate policing and morality where I live that I don’t fear for my life or property
I live in an industrial nation which is generally prosperous
I have had access to adequate healthcare that met my needs so I could grow up healthy
I have always been basically healthy
I recovered fully from my stroke and I have been free from life altering injury
All my children were born healthy
I have sufficient intelligence
I was able to play sports to establish a lifestyle of healthy activity
Many people have been willing to purchase products from our company making it a 19 year success.
I was taught to manage money
My personality and training helped me to be disciplined and have a long term perspective
I have always had reliable transportation
I was taught to respect alcohol
A brand new startup needed my services giving me hundreds of thousands of dollars so that I had sufficient capital to start a business without working for someone else.
I had to ask, “Why have I had so many privileges which other people have not had?” Is it wrong for me to have these privileges? Is it okay for me to hold on to the power granted me? At times I have felt very guilty for all my privileges.
I have decided that I don’t need to feel guilty for my privileges. However:
I must feel grateful for my privileges.
I must be willing to yield some of my privileges to grant others more power when called to do so.
I must be aware when I am working to hold on to privilege and power to the detriment of others. (Oppression)
Jesus was the ultimate power broker. Though he had all power at his disposal, he gave up his power willingly to help those without power. If we are to follow in his way, we must be willing to use our power well, and release our power for the benefit of the powerless when appropriate. You may not feel like it but, you too have a great deal of power due to many privileges given to you without your effort or decision. I hope that you will recognize the power granted you and use it well throughout your life. And I hope that you will be able to recognize where privilege is being withheld from you and be your own strong advocate for change..
Works Cited
Vischer, Phil. Race in America. YouTube, uploaded by Holy Post, 2020, https://youtu.be/AGUwcs9qJXY?si=7CiRTyjI7bkcojA-
Questions
What are the privileges given you and the power that resulted?
What does it mean to use your personal power appropriately?
Who in your personal circle or community has less power than you and why?
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