Privileged for a Purpose

President Obama was recently quoted as saying, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.”  It’s been in the news.  It has gotten a lot of small business owners and conservatives upset.  There are unflattering pictures of Obama paired with cute little quips popping up on my Facebook page talking about how somebody else made him happen.  People are blogging about it and I suppose, now I am too.  And being a conservative, you might guess what I am going to say, but keep reading because I might surprise you.

I didn’t climb the family corporate ladder to land myself two stable parents and some really awesome siblings.  I didn’t use my intellect to weigh my options and select a nice town in Midwest America over an underprivileged country in Africa as my place of birth.  I didn’t decide to be born white or healthy.  To tell you the truth, I didn’t always use my best judgement in adolescence to steer me clear of dangerous situations.  And if we are being really honest here, I didn’t go about the husband-selection process in the level-headed manner that one should.  It was by no diet of willpower that I have avoided disease or infertility or even obesity.

I’ve been blessed.  Privileged.  The grace of God has rained down on me.

I can’t go through life ignoring that, although there are times in life when I certainly try.  I want to pat myself on the back for good choices and hard work.  I’m not lacking in those areas.  And I’m not trying to paint a picture of a life that has been totally at ease either.  I’ve made tough choices.  I’ve faced heartache and hardship.  I’ve known deep sorrow.  But I’ve been privileged.

It’s funny when God sends a message loud and clear without ever speaking.  Or at least not in that booming voice from Heaven you would expect.  Or even that quiet whisper in prayer.  It’s come in the voice of friends, crying to me about their heartaches- the paths they didn’t choose; the place or position or parents they had no say in.  It’s come in an increasing awareness of the hurting in this world.  It’s come in the tugging of my heart when I see children I didn’t deserve, a husband I didn’t deserve, a family I didn’t choose and compare it with those who didn’t start out so lucky.

I keep hearing that I’m privileged.  For some reason, for some purpose, my life started out differently than a large majority.  I can count my lucky stars and move forward pretending that the path I lay out from here is all by my own doing, but I know the truth.  I was privileged for a purpose.  I can go on ignoring that purpose, as many, many, many Americans do, but it would be fighting my very nature.  I was designed with a purpose.  God didn’t bless me so I can tout about how great He is and point to my riches as proof.  He has asked me to use my blessings to glorify Him and multiply His Kingdom.

In the well-known Parable of the Talents found in Matthew Chapter 25:14-30, Jesus tells the story about a master who goes away and portions some of his money (talents) in the care of 3 servants.  To one, he gives 5 talents; to another, 3 and to the last, 1.  He gives no instruction, but it was said that they were given to each “according to their ability.”  The first two servants double the money, but the servant with one talent buries it for fear of his master.  When the master returns, he is displeased with the last servant for having done nothing with what he was given and all that he had was taken from him.  We are meant to multiply what God has given us for the good of our Master.

There are some who work hard to pay for their nice homes and their nice cars and their nice kids (And please, let’s not get into semantics about what is nice.  If you have a working vehicle and a roof over your head, it’s pretty nice in comparison to what some have).  Maybe we think because we are spreading our love to our children, we are multiplying what God has given us.  But to me, it looks a whole lot like buried talents.  If you have the capacity to love children, love somebody else’s kid too, because there are plenty out there that don’t know they are worth anything to anybody.

Maybe we think because we are paying our bills and working hard to get where we are, we are doing our part.  But if that’s all we are doing, we’re just maintaining what we got.  It’s buried money.  If you have an extra dime, it’s a dime more than somebody else has.

If you have a voice and half a wit, it’s more than what some have, but if you use it to promote yourself, you might as well just go bury your head in the sand.  It is amazing what a word of encouragement can do for a person.  Try that instead.

If you have two hands and two feet, don’t forget those who lost theirs at great sacrifice.  You’ve been privileged with those for a purpose.  Use them.  But if you’re walking around, waving your arms, just trying to get noticed, you are sinking in quick sand.  That’s not what God gave them to you for.

Have a special talent?  Maybe it’s been sitting on a shelf for awhile because it wasn’t amusing you anymore.  Guess what- Buried Treasure!  God gave it to you for a purpose.

Have courage?  Be courageous for someone scared to death (or facing death).  Have a smile?  Bring it out for that one person who doesn’t get smiled at very often.  Have faith?  Show it to the faithless.  Have a testimony?  Share it.  Especially with those who are going through the same thing.

Are you getting my point?  What we’ve got- whatever it is- has been given and it was given with a purpose.  President Obama was right.  If you have a business, or a home, or a good job, or a nice family, or an education, or an opportunity, or a breath of life- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  His Name is Jesus.  Not the United States Government.  Not Katie Koudelka.  Whatever you have, it is a privilege from God to be used for a purpose.