There is a reason we are all born to different status and affluence. Might it be that no matter what we are given, we are expected to become more?
Life’s Strange Quandaries
A while back I talked about how, in a world full of suffering, death and heartache, I could believe in a loving and caring God. “How could God let a tragedy like this happen?” “How could you believe in a God so cruel?” – These were just two of the questions I addressed. And they weren’t (and still aren’t) incredibly easy questions to answer.
Then again, I don’t believe they should be. Life’s strange quandaries should never be easy to solve. After all, if nothing worth doing is ever easy, then it would stand to reason that the resolutions to inquiries such as these hold great value, indeed.
One such question is another that I hear on a relatively frequent basis —
“If there is a God, how are there people born to suffering and others born to great wealth? Isn’t that proof that there’s no God?”
This may sound crazy… I not only think this proves there is a God, but might potentially explain – at least in part – our purpose for being here at all!
It Doesn’t Seem Fair
It doesn’t seem fair, does it, that some people are born with money, power and talents, while others are born poor, powerless and dependent.
Surely, you must have at least once caught yourself asking “How come he gets to have all the money?” or perhaps observing “well sure, but she didn’t earn that money! She was born to it!”
“C’mon man! Why does he get to have the entire collection of Game of Thrones on BluRay?!”
Hey, it’s okay. I’m guilty of that too.
Regardless of what you do or don’t have, whatever that may be, have you ever wondered why you have more than someone else? Sometimes a whole lot more?
I’ve done that as well.
So why do some of us have more than others, right from the very get-go? How come some of us are born to wealth while others are born to nothing?
How in the world could a loving God allow such a thing to happen?
If There’s a God, There’s A Purpose
I’m very much a believer that if there’s a God, there’s a purpose to everything. Now, you might argue that the reason we have people born to different status and affluence is because we – human beings – made that choice. And I’m not arguing that… but then again I see “free will” as part of the point.
But if we have “free will”, and we get to make a choice about what to do about our lives, then why aren’t we given a choice about the status and affluence to which we are born?
If we didn’t make that choice, who did?
Did anyone at all?
You may say that wealth and power are completely man-made things. But who and what you are born to isn’t man-made. If it isn’t man-made, then God chose it.
But based on what?
Could it be because God knows you, knows what you’re capable of, and knows what you could do with what you’ve been given – be it much or little?
Could it be that He knows where to put you, and when, based on this?
The Purpose Of Status And Affluence
I think the first answer is easy: we are constantly tested against our pride, envy, greed, and charity. We can only be properly tested against these things if some people have more than others. If we all had everything under the sun equally, there would be no way to test this.
The second answer is a little more complicated, but can be explained in one sentence:
Much is expected from he to whom much is given.
In other words, those who are born into wealth, power and status are expected to do something with it. Not just sit on it or abuse it.
And those who aren’t given much are still expected to do something with that very little. Perhaps the “much” you have been given isn’t as obvious. Perhaps you’re focusing on the wrong thing.
Perhaps we are all expected to become more.
That makes a lot of sense, too, doesn’t it? After all, Jesus came, in part, to show us the “more” that each one of us could be. He told us about this in the “Parable of The Talents” (found in Matthew 25:14-30, and Luke 19:12-27 as “The Parable of The Pounds”).
You could even argue that both the “Feeding of The 5,000” and the “Feeding of The 4,000” (or “Feeding of The Multitude“) are expressions of this idea.
It’s all right there.
What we have, what we don’t have, what we are born into… none of that matters. Just as much is expected of you if you have only a pen, where someone else may have a fully-loaded computer and printing press.
Or the entire collection of Game of Thrones!
What matters is that you turn what you’ve got into something more.
That’s the challenge. And I daresay that’s the whole point.
We’re here to be more than ourselves, to become more than what we were given.
To, essentially, lift ourselves up. And in doing so, lift others up with us.
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By acknowledging what status and affluence you were born into, identifying the resources you have at your disposal, and understanding the gifts God has given you, is it easier to gain insight into what God’s purpose for you might be? What might be the “more” that God is expecting from you? What advantages and disadvantages can be found in the status and affluence you were born into? What do you think about this concept as a whole? Share your thoughts and experiences below!
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