Title: Privilege
Text: Matthew 20:20-28 (Mark 10:35-45)
Thesis: To be in a position of privilege is to be in a position to think of others (serevice).
Introduction:
James D. Berkley, author of The Leadership Handbook wrote, “All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own importance.” (James D. Berkley, “Eleven-gallon Head,” Leadership Weekly, 10//3/02)
Privilege is a right or benefit given to some but not others. To be a person of privilege is to have an edge or advantage that avails you to opportunities others do not have. Privilege is often associated with what a person has… wealth, power and influence. Privilege is often a matter of gender, socio-economic class, academic or educational opportunities, race and ethnicity… the classic example of privilege has been the privileged status of the middle-aged, white male who is part of the “good old boys club.”
Another way of looking at persons of privilege is to note that often privilege is about what that person does not have. A man who does not have one or both legs missing has an edge over the man who has missing legs. The man who does not have to work two jobs and go to community college at night has an advantage over the man who does. The man who is not a person of color may have an advantage the person of color does not. The man who is not a woman may have an edge on the person who is. The man who does not live in the ghetto may have an advantage over the person who does. It is not always about what a person has… it is also about what a person does not have to contend with while others must.
A person of privilege can use his or her privilege or abuse that privilege. A classic example of abuse came about a year ago, on June 15 of last year, 16-year-old Tim Keller stole beer from Wal-Mart, became intoxicated and with two of his friends in the back of his pickup, plowed into a group of people while doing 70 miles per hour and then fled the scene. Four people died and nine people were injured including one of the riders in the back of his pickup who remains paralyzed. (His blood alcohol was three times the legal limit.)
His defense claimed he suffered from “affluenza” which is a non-medical term for people whose wealth insulates them from consequences of having driven drunk and killed four people. “A defense psychologist testified that Ethan’s parents had never set any boundaries for him. He had freedoms no young man would be able to handle. They gave him whatever he wanted including his own party pad… leaving him to essentially raise himself. Therefore he could not understand the relationship between action and consequence.” Patrik Jonsson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 18, 2013)
He received ten years of probation and zero time.
Affluenza is not necessarily about affluence, though that is part of the equation. Affluenza is really about privilege. People like privilege and will pay for it…
• Tourists visiting Universal Studios can, for $149, purchase the right to jump to the head of the line.
• Motorists pay for access to the HOV lanes so they can go faster than the schmucks in the regular lanes.
• Patients can have their doctor’s cell phone number and same day appointments for annual fees ranging up to as high as $25,000 annually.
• Credit card users can now purchase the right to a Centurion Card from American Express. For $2,500 a year you can own the Centurion Card which entitles you to charge $200,000 in one sitting. A person needs a lot of privilege to charge $200,000 on a single transaction.
It is not a matter of affluence, though affluence plays a part in it. It is ultimately about privilege. The privilege of jumping to the head of the line. The privilege of driving in the fast lane. The privilege of having your doctor at your beck and call. The privilege of having the distinction of being able to conduct a $200,000 transaction.
Our text today begins with a case of privilege expressed as selfish ambition.
I. Selfish Ambition
“In your kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and one on your left.” Matthew 20:20-21
James and John were Jesus’ cousins. Their mother was his aunt, a sister to his mother, Mary. So it is in the context of family or kinship that she approached Jesus. In verse 20 the bible says she “knelt respectfully to ask a favor” of Jesus. Her favor was that when Jesus came into his Kingdom, she would like for her sons to sit in places of honor next to him… one on his right and one on his left.
This was not just a favor that came out of the blue… Jesus had said in Matthew 19:28 that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne that his followers would also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus’ aunt was simply wishing to ensure that James and John had favored status when Jesus came into his Kingdom.
What is revealing about her request in behalf of her sons is that they were ambitious. In their minds they were thinking positions of power and authority. They were thinking about how then they would have princely lives. Instead of being ruled by the Romans, they would rule the Romans. They were thinking about personal advancement. They were go-getters. This was their opportunity for advancement. You could say that they were in fact using their position of privilege, as family members, to secure an even greater position of privilege… the best seats right next to Jesus.
A couple of years ago Bonnie and I did spring break with our kids in Florida. While waiting at the gate to get our assigned seats the agent told Bonnie and me that she would see that we were seated together. I was just coming off of surgery and was carrying a cane just in case we had to do a bunch of walking from concourse to concourse. I really became nervous as people were boarding all around us until finally we were the only people left to be assigned seats. She put us in 1st Class. Do you know that you have ample leg room and spacious seats in 1at Class? Do you know that the food is better in 1st Class? Did you know they give you little hot towels to freshen up in 1st Class? Did you know that you have your own 1st Class lavatory that the lowly people back in coach cannot use? I rather like privilege. And if carrying a cane gets me privilege and 1st Class seating… I’m keeping the cane.
Most people really dislike it when people of privilege use their position of privilege as something they do not necessarily deserve. That is what cooked the other disciples.
When the other disciples heard that James and John and their mother were lobbying for places of status in the Kingdom, they were indignant.
II. Jealous Indignation
When the then other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant… Matthew 20:24
This isn’t the first time the question of privilege had come up. In Matthew 18:1 they had as a group, approached Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” In Luke 9:46 the disciples were arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest.
All of the disciples had a touch of ambition. They were all concerned about their status. So status and privilege were issues for all the disciples and they were incensed at John and James… for two reasons:
1. James, John and their mother actually had the gall to lobby for privileged positions.
2. James, John and their mother had used their privilege as family members to lobby for privileged positions.
I got my first job on highway construction right out of high school working for Hallett Construction Company on a highway paving crew in Willow Springs, Missouri. My uncle was the saw man. He told the superintendent that I was a good hardworking kid. My uncle told me to come down to the job site in Willow Springs, Missouri, go out to the job site, introduce myself to the superintendent and tell him I would like a job. I did and then he told me to stand around all day… which seemed kind of dumb to me but I did. When the paver stopped at the end of the day and they began putting in the header the superintendent handed me a shovel and said, “Go back and clean the concrete that had spilled over the forms from all the form locks. I did and I worked for him for four seasons after that.
I got the job because of who I knew. I had the job so I had to join the union but I did not have to hang around the union hall hoping they would send me out on a job somewhere. The union steward was irked by the fact that an out-of-state college kid from up north got to go to the head of the line, so to speak, while the local laborers were sitting around in the Union Hall waiting for jobs. No one likes it when they feel they are treated unfairly because someone else is a person of privilege.
We have all heard things like, “It’s not what you know but who you know.” and “Blood is thicker than water.” And we are always a little irked when we know someone has gotten an opportunity, not necessarily because they were worthy, but because of who they were or who they knew.
Jesus immediately stepped up to set everyone straight.
III. Selfless Service
“Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.” Matthew 20:25-28
Jesus was likely a little exasperated with his disciples but you would never know it. Having heard what was going on he called a team meeting and said, “Hey guys, let me set the record straight. Greatness in my Kingdom is not about privilege as you understand it. In my mind, privilege is the privilege of serving.”
The first kind of leader Jesus brings to mind are the kind that lord it over people.
A. Leaders who lord it over those under them
“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over the people under them.” Matthew 20:25
People often take positions of service under the pretense that they really are about serving people. CBS News (and a host of other media) reported that nearly 80% of V.A. executives received bonuses totally 2.7 million dollars despite evidence that widespread falsifying of patient appointment records, delays in delays and preventable deaths at V.A. hospitals and clinics. Auditors found that the bonuses have become entitlements irrelevant to quality of performance. In some cases serving the needs of veterans was less important than getting the bonuses.
It isn’t just business, it is also true in politics. You might think that politicians were solely motivated by the desire to serve. You hear things like, “I never really aspired to office but when I realized how bad things have become I just feel compelled to step in to save the country.” (Paul Waldman, Breaking: Politicians Are Ambitious, the American Prospect, January 21, 2014
My guess is that for the most part those who initially wish to be public servants eventually fall in love with the power and prestige and privilege that come with catering to special interests and then lord it over the American constituency.
Everyone has power. Interestingly, a physics professor would say, “Power is the rate at which work gets done.” But a political professor would say, “Power is the ability to get what we want.” Jesus would say, “Use your power to glorify God and serve others.”
Jesus said that “lording it over others” leaders are not what he has in mind.
B. Leaders in the Kingdom will be servants
“Among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.” Matthew 20:26
The word Jesus used for servant is the word “diakonos.” Diakonos means to be a minister. In the church we called them deacons. In Acts 6 the disciples asked the Christians to select seven men, full of faith and the Holy Spirit, to serve in the role of deacons. Their call was a call to serve the people of the church and specifically their job originally was to oversee the distribution of food to the widows in their church.
The word “diakonos” is translated servant and refers to a person who works for money or is hired to work for a master doing whatever servants were asked to do… not necessarily the fun stuff. In fact the servant actually did the lowly and undignified things. In VBS this week the students learned that one of the things Jesus did as an example of servant hood was wash his disciple’s feet.
Just to make sure the disciples understood, he took his instruction a step further.
C. Leaders in the Kingdom will be slaves
Jesus continued, “And whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.” Matthew 20:27
The word Jesus used here is a stronger word than that for a servant. It is “doulos” which means slave. A slave was not someone hired to work for a lord or master. A slave was someone who was forced into service as a bond slave. A “doulos” or bond slave did not work for wages. A bond slave was not his own… he was virtually the slave of his or her master.
To fully understand the life of a bond slave… think slavery as in Colonial and Pre-Civil War America. Masters bought slaves who then served at the whim of their masters. Think Roots. Think Amistad. Think 12 Years a Slave. Slaves did the most degrading, demeaning, distasteful and undignified things… and they were subject to the worst kinds of abuse at the hands of their masters.
What makes this so challenging is that Jesus told his disciples then and is telling his followers today that we are to willfully and voluntarily assume the roles of servant and slave.
This is not the life of the would-be public servant who runs for office. This is not even the life of those of us who are either ordained to the office of deacon or elected to serve as deacons in church… it is not a position of privilege. It is not a badge of honor or a place on the governing board to bear rule in the church. In many churches staking claim to the office of Deacon is to be in a position of control. In many instances to be a Deacon is to be seated on the Board of Directors. However Jesus calls us to the roles of servant and slave.
What Jesus was asking his followers to do was become humble in a world that did not and does not value humility as a virtue… humility is more likely to be regarded as a vice rather than a virtue. In this world you do not get to the top by serving at the bottom.
Jesus used himself as a model of humility and service when he said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 Jesus was not motivated to ascend to a seat of honor or the thought of reward… his motive was simply to wholeheartedly and selflessly serve God and others.
We don’t often hear the word ransom used unless it is in reference to a kidnapping…
Boko Haram made the news in Nigeria again last week. Once again they went into remote villages on a killing rampage. They reportedly went door to door dragging women out to select young women to take them away… demanding 30-40 cows for their ransom. (News, The World at a Glance…, The Week Magazine, June 20, 2014, P. 6)
A ransom is the price of release. A ransom is the money paid to buy a slave out of slavery. It is the money paid to gain the release of captives. When Jesus spoke of the Son of Man giving his life as a ransom for many he was exchanging his life for our freedom from the bondage of sin and death.
Isaiah 53 poetically and prophetically speaks of the way Jesus substituted his life for our lives: “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray… we have turned from God and gone our own way. Yet the Lord has laid on him the sins of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6
My favorite verse describing the work of Christ in our behalf is I Peter 3:18: Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God…” I Peter 3:18 The ransom Christ paid gained our release so we could come home to God.
The role of every Christ follower is to serve in ways that glorify God and pave the way for others to find their way home to God.
Conclusion
I couple of weeks ago I asked Bonnie if I have a dignified look or demeanor. I told her that it seemed like everyone was calling me “sir” and holding doors for me… it seemed like an inordinate amount of respect and deferential treatment. Bonnie let me down easy with some remark like, “No, it’s because you are a geezer.” I guess there is nothing like a constant and exaggerated sense of one’s own importance.”
I don’t think I am alone in this… my sense is that Western-Culture Christians have an outsized sense of personal importance. My sense is that many if not most Christians are pretty concerned about having and exercising their rights. My sense is that, as Billy Graham put it in “The Faithful Christian” published in Christianity Today (Vol. 39, no. 9), “This age is interested in success, not suffering. We can identify with James and John who wanted choice seats in the Kingdom of God. We might even ask for reclining chairs and soft music.” We have forgotten, as Timothy Keller puts it, “Servant hood begins where gratitude and applause ends.” (Timothy Keller, Ministries of Mercy, p. 139)
A little over a year ago The Atlantic published an article citing the fact that 70% of American workers say work is a major source of stress in their lives. Half of American workers say they are unsatisfied and unhappy in their work. A research worker identified three basic kinds of workers: Takers, Matchers and Givers.
• Takers see the workplace as a competitive, dog-eat-dog place. They say, “I have to look out for myself because no one else will.”
• Matchers believe work relationships are governed by even exchanges for favors… schmoozers.
• Givers are others focused, paying more attention to what other people need from them. Their hallmark is generosity at work. Unfortunately only 8% of people describe themselves as givers at work.
Amazingly it is the givers who are among the most successful and the happiest. For example, among school teachers, givers were less vulnerable to stress and exhaustion and saw their lives as having a positive impact on their students.
I wonder if the same thing is true of Christians and the Church… takers who are primarily concerned about control and power, matchers who don’t mind compromising for the sake of getting and getting along and givers who are in it for the glory of God and the good of others.
So the questions for you and me is: “Am I willing to be like Jesus… choosing to serve rather than be served? Am I willing to think of others and leverage my position of privilege in ways that serve?”
