Using Our Gifts, Privileges to Enhance Freedom for Others

By Meghann Jaeger

Each one of us comes wriggling and squealing into this world in a place and at a time. Along with basically everything else, the two things we cannot control are that place, and that time. We are born into a land and a situation and a family that we have absolutely no say in. And yet, in a lot of ways, that place and time make all the difference.

Perhaps you were born in Canada, where there is freedom of religion and freedom of speech, and wealth and privilege that far surpasses a lot of the world. Or perhaps you were born into poverty, or slavery, or into a war zone, or into a culture or family that oppresses and abuses you just because of your gender or the colour of your skin. In any of those situations, you did nothing to deserve any of those things… you were simply born. But the course of your life is kicked off, at least, by where and when you began.

It is important that as we look at our responsibility to those around us and the world at large, that we consider where we came from and the fact that whatever we have or do not have was a product of our time and place, and not that of our morality, or cuteness, or worth, or value, or anything else. When we look at others, we need to see people and children of God, and not all the trappings that come with the person as a result of where they started or where they’ve been. We were all born, and we were all born as precious children of God.

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Nelson Mandela

Recently, I’ve been challenged by this quote from Nelson Mandela. I am one of those born into Canada, and while I’m not naïve to the fact that there is struggle and pain and difficult situations in Canada, I also recognize that I am blessed with freedoms not found in much of the world, simply because I was born here. But the challenge from Mandela, and (I believe) from God, is this: what will I do with those freedoms? How will I live and act in the face of undeserved grace? Will I live in a way that does not take those freedoms for granted, but instead fights for freedom and restoration for others? We are all capable, and further, calledto use whatever we have, large or small, to be a blessing to others.

It is hard for us to think this way when culture bombards us with messages to the contrary. “You earned this through your hard work and the sacrifices you made.” “You need to keep up with the Joneses.” “Your value is created by what you look like, what you have, and where you live.” “God helps those who help themselves.” “Freedom is your right, and no one can take it from you.” “You need to look out for #1.” And yet, when we look at the person of Jesus, we hear a different message, don’t we? “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” “Go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and follow me.” “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Our leader was one who gave up his very life for the sake of others, and He calls us to live in a way that imitates and reflects Him.

Many in the world live without access to proper shelter. If you have been blessed with a home, maybe it is so that you can offer hospitality to others. If you’ve been blessed with enough wealth to be able to afford coffee out every day, maybe it is so that you can make coffee at home and fund a water project for a community without access to clean water. If you have freedom of speech, maybe it is so that you can speak up for the rights of those in slavery, or those who have been trafficked. If you’ve been blessed with the ability to write eloquently, maybe it is so that you can write to governments and leaders to fight for equal rights, fair labour laws, the end of oppression and slavery. 

Maybe whatever skills or privileges you have, whether big or small, were given to you to use in the service of others. And maybe, just maybe… if we all start to live in that way, we will begin to see things change in our world. When we pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” maybe it starts with you and I (and those who follow us) becoming agents of change for one person or many people around us.

“When our grandchildren ask us where we were when the voiceless and the vulnerable in our era needed leaders of compassion and purpose, I hope we can say that we showed up, and that we showed up on time.”

Gary Haugen- International Justice Mission