Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Femina Ferox

Home
Catholic
The Difference Between Having Privilege and Being Blessed

The Difference Between Having Privilege and Being Blessed

Last updated on: May 14, 2020 at 2:18 pm by Emily Claire Schmitt

The Difference Between Having Privilege and Being Blessed 2020-05-14T14:18:48-04:00 Emily Claire Schmitt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

I had a really good day yesterday. A few things I’d been hoping for creatively and personally came through all at once. Meanwhile, the death toll in my city continues to rise. Unemployment continues to rise. A good friend is struggling with disruptions to her wedding day. All of this leaves me with complicated feelings. On one hand, I want to express gratitude to God. On the other, I cannot accept the idea that God chose me specifically to bless with privilege while not blessing others.

Why does this happen and what is God doing?

Having Privilege is Not the Same as Being Blessed

There is a great deal of confusion around what constitutes a blessing from God. Growing up, everything was a blessing. The food we eat, the roof over our head, our education, our family: all blessings. Online, #blessed appears next to images of healthy, smiling children, beautiful houses, and luxurious vacations. To be clear, all of these things do come from God because everything good in this world comes from God. But they are not signifiers of holiness. (To claim they are is to fall victim to the heretical Prosperity Gospel, which claims that good things come to good people.) We can and should express gratitude for material gifts, but blessings are something else entirely.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a blessing is a form of sacramental, or something that will “prepare us to receive the grace of the sacraments and help us to grow to be more like Christ.” When a priest lays his hands on a person or object, this is a blessing. When we pray for others we are blessing them. When God sheds grace on us through the sacraments, we receive a blessing. Your house is not a blessing. Your job is not a blessing. These things are gifts and often privileges. They can be taken from you without any negative repercussions to your soul.

If You Wish to Be Perfect, Go Sell What You Have

The concept of divesting oneself of privilege is often considered progressive, even radical. In case you’re not familiar, the general concept is that some privileges, such as those that come along with race and gender, are wrong in and of themselves. Equality, then, is not just a matter of bringing everyone up to the same level of advantage, but in fact requiring certain people to put aside their advantages.

In the Gospel of Matthew, when the rich man approaches Jesus, and asks what he must do to enter into Heaven, Jesus first checks to make sure that he’s keeping all the commandments. He is. The rich man is also a good man, it turns out. He is a good man who also has many things. But these things are not blessings. Jesus says:

“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21

Jesus asks the rich man to divest himself of his privilege entirely if he aspires to spiritual perfection. The rich man, it turns out, is not ready. The Gospel makes a point to emphasis that “he went away sad.” Because, although he could not part with them, his possessions did not make him happy.

In the End, Everything is God’s

I am like the rich man. I want to keep God’s commandments, but I can’t imagine abandoning the various gifts God has given me. My family, my safety, financial stability, and the ability to make art are all enormous privileges. If I were perfect, I would be prepared to return them to God at any moment. I can still be saved through God’s grace, but the recognition that privilege is not the same as blessing is sobering. Some privileges, such as racial advantage, are in fact an impediment to grace and need to be removed from society. But even the genuinely good privileges, like my loving family, are only temporary gifts.

In the end, everything belongs to God.

About Emily Claire Schmitt

Emily Claire Schmitt is a playwright and screenwriter focused on uncovering the mystical in the modern world. She is a Core Member of The Skeleton Rep(resents) and is currently developing an original movie with The Hallmark Channel. Follow her on Twitter at @Eclaire082. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

May 11, 2020

How I Learned to Love My Local Parish and Why I Have to Leave

Next Post

May 18, 2020 Modesty Debate Ignores Women's Sexuality

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 August 2018 January 2018 December 2017 August 2017 February 2017 January 2017 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which foreign woman married King Ahab and promoted Baal worship in Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Rahab Athaliah Tamar Jezebel