Recognizing our Inherent Worthiness

By some kind of dumb luck, I was born nearly fifty years ago in Illinois, the daughter of two middle-class white parents.

My good fortune has followed me most of my life: I received a solid education, have a low-stress career I love, enjoy good health. My kids are likewise healthy, and my husband has a well-paying job he loves. We live in Dundee, the most beautiful place on earth, and by the world’s standards, we are wealthy beyond measure.

Very little of this largesse came from my own initiative. And yet, the language of recent public discourse suggests I am somehow inherently more worthy of this bounty than others. That somehow, I deserve the goodness in my life. That, indeed, God has blessed me and other well-off American citizens with abundant riches, of health and happiness and a nicely appointed home.

Last week, it was reported that President Donald Trump called the nation of Haiti, and the entire continent of Africa, a “shithole,” suggesting that people from some countries are worthy of that invective. Perhaps even more appalling, several evangelical leaders, including Robert Jeffress and Franklin Graham, voiced support for the president following this incident, condemning the salty language Trump used, while claiming the spirit of his “shithole” comment was appropriate and, Jeffress said, “right on target.”

Fundamentally, this rhetoric drives policies which are antithetical to the God I serve: The God who created the entire world and called all of it good. The God who sent his son to save us, not through power and might, but through humility and love. The One of whom the Psalmist sings, “I praise God because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

If Christians are to believe—really believe—the Psalmist, we need to reflect on what we mean when we support policies that suggest some people are inherently more worthy than others, just by virtue of where they were born. Or the color of their skin. Or their gender, their sexuality, the ability and health of their minds and bodies.  

Jesus’ ministry on earth reminds us that we are inherently worthy, no matter what. When we hear countless messages telling us that only those who look and act a certain way are blessed and deserving of every good thing, Jesus provides a counter message. He tells us we should be singularly focused on loving God with our hearts, souls and minds; and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Our lives should be a living testimony to this command, which serves as a reminder that every person—yes, every last one—is a beautiful, wonderful image-bearer of the Divine, no matter if they were, by some dumb luck, born in this country, or in another place entirely.