sermonette: Our Privilege

Offeratory
John W. Ritenbaugh
Given 02-Oct-01; Sermon #FT01-02s; 20 minutes

Description: (show)

Every nation has its privileged class, and in some nations, it is the royalty. In this nation, it seems to be the political figures, and the wealthy regardless of their character. And there is no doubt that with privilege comes power. To be privileged means to be favored, or to have been granted a benefit, or a special advantage. It means to have been given immunity, or permission, or status that is denied others.

Now sometimes one can think of instances in which whole nations are privileged, but privilege is not limited to nations, because it seems as though nearly every village and hamlet has those whose names carry power of privilege.

Now we generally think of privilege as being the possession of the wealthy or occupying a position of influence and/or control, so that when those who have it speak, things happen. The privileged are often thought of as the movers and shakers, and the trendsetters that others look to in an attempt to imitate or to please. Their privilege may not have been earned but merely inherited. And it may reside in a family of long-time wealth and status, whose names carry a great deal of influence.

Sometimes the privileged are looked upon as stogy people living only to protect their position and to get things accomplished that will further their interest.

But in some cases, privilege is not nearly as restricted as one might think.

Now turn with me to Leviticus 19:

Leviticus 19:14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

This is interesting, at least in part because of where it appears. It is right in the midst of the holiness laws. It addresses the privilege of the overwhelming majority on earth who possess the privilege of being able to see and hear. Now some, for whatever the cause, may have been denied those privileges, and of course it is a small number compared to the whole of humanity, but nonetheless they are there.

Now this principle is stated negatively. But the positive side is that the haves—the privileged—are to be a source of assistance to the have-nots. Now the social welfare system has its roots, at least partly, in this concept that is stated here. The privileged have the obligation to care for those who are less endowed.

But the welfare system has been greatly abused, I think we all agree, and it needs to be reformed because it has failed to be merely a stopgap measure for short-time assistance. It has in fact spawned a class of professional cheats who play the system; stealing, so that they do not have to legitimately earn a living. Human nature motivates a mindset that convinces some that they are owed the assistance. But, the intention that motivated the system, that is, the welfare system, is honorable and it has biblical roots.

The Bible clearly shows in other places that the privileged bear a responsibility to help those who are less privileged. Let us turn to another scripture I think that is very familiar to us in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 14.

Deuteronomy 14:28-29 "At the end of third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite [here is a list of the less privileged], because he has no portion nor inheritance [that is, he is disadvantaged] with you, and the stranger [who is feared, or looked down upon] and the fatherless and the widow [without a husband to lead her] who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”

So God's laws concerning the less privileged is that we are required—obligated—to care for widows, for orphans, the poor, and the foreigner are clearly seen.

Besides this, in other places, He says things like, “Do not cut the corners of your field. Do not glean your harvest. Open your hand wide to those in need.” And there are others of similar attitude. The principle that privilege brings with it responsibility is very clear.

For example, are you aware that the entire tithing and offering system has its base in the fundamental facts that bear on this? At the very bottom line of the tithing and offering system is God's claim on tithes and offerings; that He owns the earth and all that is in it. Not only that, but Hosea also specifically says that even the food that comes out of the ground is His, and He responsibly follows His laws and gives it to us who are less advantaged than He is so that we can use it. And as a result of our having the privilege of living here on His land and eating His produce, we are responsible to pay Him ten percent. And then, because He has privileged us with so much more besides including knowledge of Him, His purpose, and redemption, we are required to give Him offerings as well. And so the principle that privilege brings responsibility is very clearly shown in God's Word.

Now let us go into the New Testament in the book of Luke 12.

Luke 12:47-48 “And that servant who knew his master's will [a privilege], and did not prepare himself [he took no advantage of it] or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know [with less privilege, less advantage], yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”

The more we are given, the more we are privileged, the greater the obligation. That is the principle there.

This statement is the conclusion of a rather long instruction given during Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount. This is a warning clearly directly aimed at us.

Now again this has negative implications. The warnings of this sort are necessary because human nature is such that so frequently we need a threat, stated or implied, in order for us to make some effort to keep on the straight and narrow. But privilege does not have to be looked upon negatively at all.

For example, God's blessings to a person who is growing is to give them the privilege of greater responsibility, or to increase their gifts. So you are coasting along at this rate. He gives you a blessing and you are up here now, and with it the responsibility increases as well. So being blessed is to be privileged to serve and glorify God in a greater capacity.

And sometimes this links up with it becoming a curse, and we think of our blessings as being a curse because they bring the responsibility with them.

But it reaches into some unlikely areas. I just want to show you one here in I Corinthians 12. This is the chapter regarding the body analogy that the apostle Paul makes.

I Corinthians 12:21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

Paul is saying here that institutions like the church, like a family, like a business, or like an organization of any kind is to be looked upon in a body-sense that one does not stand alone within it. And he is going to show here that those who are a part of that body have a responsibility to meet because they have been privileged to be part of it.

I Corinthians 12:22-26 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need [those who are privileged]. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it [How about those apples! And the reason is] that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

This applies not only to the church, but also to businesses as well. It is the responsibility of the leadership to take care of employees, and not to think of them as necessary evils, or as so much baggage that they have to be carrying. And sometimes this breaks down within families, within marriages, within businesses, within institutions.

Do you consider your calling to be a blessing? Without having God give us the privilege of having this blessing, we would not even be able to glorify God at all. And of course, the calling brings with it responsibilities that we were not even aware of before, but it is by carrying out and fulfilling them that God is glorified.

Being privileged is to be blessed to be in a position to do good, and for this we should be very thankful that we have been given so much.

Do we often thank God that we can even see physically, or hear physically? Do we thank God that we can see spiritually, and that we can hear His Word with understanding? That is a privilege, but it bears with it a responsibility as well.

Thus, in Deuteronomy 16:17, which we will not turn to, it says there that we are to give as we are able according to the blessing (which is our privilege) the Lord has given you. So being in a position to give an offering is a privilege both in terms of money and having the knowledge to do so.

Do you know what Israel's greatest privilege was? I want you to turn to the book of Amos. I mentioned this last night. I did not go into it very much, but we did touch on it in Deuteronomy 4.

Amos 3:1-2 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

You only! What a privilege that was. No other nation on earth in all the history of mankind for the past 6,000 years did God make a covenant with. No other nation ever heard God's voice speaking to them out from the mount. No other nation of people ever had to stand at the base of that mount and feel the earth leaping around under their feet just merely from the presence of the power of God. And you see, in principle, we stand at the same place. No other people have been blessed to be able to see God, to be able to hear His Word with understanding. Their greatest privilege, brethren, was that God chose to love them greater than He loves all other people. “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated” (Romans 9:13).

That hate, incidentally, is not an emotional quality. It is simply a matter of the choice that God made to reveal Himself to Jacob and to his children.

Now the same statement is true of us, except that the privilege extended by God through the New Covenant is far greater, because God made the terms of the New Covenant so much superior as to make the Old Covenant obsolete. It is our awareness of having been privileged to be blessed that lies at the foundation of thankfulness.

And it is a privilege that ought to so put us into wonder and awe over its implications that our thankfulness ought to be brimful and running over—overflowing to such an extent that it is never forgotten.

The greatest fall, the greatest destruction ever to come on any nation of the history of man, is going to come on Israel shortly, like God says right here, “Because I have loved you, I will punish you.” [It is] because of Israel's failure to carry through with their privilege.

So we have the choice of choosing between looking upon our privilege as a negative duty to be grudgingly borne, or thankfully pursued because it is perceived to be a blessing to be in a position to have its responsibility. God makes clear that He loves a cheerful giver.

Now the amount is not what impresses Him, though that does have some bearing on His judgment. What pleases Him is our thoughtful and grateful consideration of His blessings, and the cheerful, thankful meeting of the responsibilities that they impose.