Identifying and Stewarding Our Privileges and Blessings

Cultivating thankful lips, humble hearts, and generous hands

This article isn’t about culture wars or performative activism.

It’s about honesty, thankfulness, community, and stewardship.

It is not meant to incite defensiveness, arrogance, or self-hatred.

It is also not about glossing over the reality of our sufferings, needs, limitations, and challenges.

Now, before we go any further, if the word “privilege” doesn’t resonate with you, I don’t want you to get hung up on it. Maybe you prefer the word “blessing”? Either word will do for our purposes today.

So, what do I mean by Privileges or Blessings?

I mean: good things in your life, relationships, or environment that may lead to more good things.

Some examples:

• adequate food and shelter

• clean air and water

• owning a Bible in your heart language

• a sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose

• living in the country/city/region of your choosing

• being able to work

• having a job that feels fulfilling

• saving money

• going on vacation

• having markets, gardens, or grocery stores close by

• education beyond elementary school

• not having an illness or disability

• having opportunities because of your family or culture of origin

• being able to practice your religion free from the threat of violence

• living in a walkable city, neighborhood, or village

• having the ability to participate and/or vote in local and national elections

• an adequate community support system

• growing up in a safe and stable home

• access to quality healthcare

• having the time, health, and resources to pursue hobbies and recreational activities

• educational options

• the ability to pay for cleaning staff, life coaches, therapists, or daycare

• speaking a language easily understood by the people in your community

• getting to travel to other countries

• having friends you can rely on (and who can rely on you)

• speaking multiple languages

• being respected within your community

• having influence within your community

• living in a society in which violent, sexual crimes (in the home and the workplace) are illegal

• the ability to get enough sleep

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

The above list is by no means comprehensive. It’s meant to be representative of some of the types of blessings we may have, whether they be spiritual, physical, social, financial, cultural, or emotional in their nature.

So now that we’ve explored a few examples of privileges and blessings: What are wise and godly ways to acknowledge and steward the blessings that we have?

It’s not by denying them, and it’s not by feeling shame over them.

I propose that there are two main things:

1. Acknowledging Your Blessings with Thankfulness and Humility

• Acknowledge: The first step is to tell the truth about your blessings—to yourself and to other people. It can be helpful periodically to take an inventory of the blessings in our lives. (You know, the whole “count your blessings” thing.) Other times, either because of situations or conversations, we may be newly struck by the reality of some of our privileges! The key is to be honest with ourselves and others about the unique blessings we each have!

• Thankfulness: After we have acknowledged the reality of our blessings, a good next step is thankfulness! Rather than slipping into denial, self-loathing, or pride, what if we took time to praise? Sometimes our blessings are a result of our character or our hard work, and sometimes our blessings are a result of “luck”. Usually, it's a combination of both. Regardless, it's good to take time to be thankful for the blessings in our lives! (The exception is if your blessings are the result of sins such as greed or deception. In that case, the appropriate response is not thankfulness but repentance.)

• Humility: Sometimes we take for granted our privileges; thankfulness can be one antidote for that. Sometimes we take sinful pride in our blessings; cultivating humility can be a vital antidote for such pride. As Christians, we believe that all humans are valuable, possess dignity, and are worthy of respect. This is because we (like plants and animals) are made by God—and (unlike plants and animals) are made in his image! However, we are merely creatures; we are not God. We can do nothing apart from Him. And so, even when our blessings are partially the result of our own character or efforts, we still owe it all to our Creator! How much more when we have blessings that are a matter of chance or luck (like the country we were born in or the type of elementary school we attended). Sometimes we think that we have religious freedom or financial prosperity because we've worked so hard or voted for all the right people, but many times those things are primarily outside of our control. To put it another way, when someone is less fortunate than you, don't assume that it's because they have inferior character or an inferior work ethic; from my observations, these are rarely the reasons behind someone's lack of privileges or blessings in a particular area. For some people, this concept is easy to understand and accept. For others, it takes time and effort to purposely cultivate humility, acknowledging that all good gifts we have come from God, and generally speaking, we are no more worthy of receiving blessings than any other person on Earth! Let us be slow to judge a person because of their blessings or lack of blessings. Instead, acknowledge your own blessings with thankfulness and humility.

2. Stewarding Your Privileges with Wisdom and Generosity

• Stewardship: Once you've identified your privileges, expressed thankfulness and cultivated humility, the next reasonable step is stewardship. Stewardship means wisely using our gifts, resources, and abilities in the service of goodness, beauty, and truth. Let's say that you have multiple Bibles In your heart language; being a good steward could mean being diligent to read and study. Or perhaps you have enough food on hand for a whole week; being a good steward could mean sharing a meal with a single parent who is struggling. If your salary is greater than your needs, being a good steward could mean saving some of your money for the future needs of your family. If you have extensive knowledge about a particular topic, stewardship can mean humbly sharing that knowledge with others or putting that knowledge into practice to serve others. If you have free time, stewardship could mean using that time to enjoy nature, help a neighbor with a chore, encourage a friend, or learn a new language!

• Wisdom should guide how we feel about our privileges and what choices we make in light of our privileges. Wisdom is knowledge applied to real life. Wisdom means knowing that objective morality exists outside of you. It means knowing that there's rarely only one right way to do things. Wisdom means weighing various options and factors—and then choosing one of the best options amongst many good options. It means seeking God’s will through the Bible, your community, and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. It means being slow to judge other people who make choices differently than you do.

• Generosity: Some people like to say that you can't pour from an empty cup, and that's true. But it tends to reinforce an unhealthy western hyper-individualism that allows one to absolve oneself of our obligations to one another. However, if you spend time in a more communal culture, you'll quickly learn that there can be great benefit in mutual, sacrificial giving even when your own cup is not full! My husband is a wonderful example of this: even when he comes home exhausted after a long day at work, if he has even a little bit of energy left, he joyfully uses it to listen to whatever is on my heart and mind, thereby easing my heavy burdens. Even when he has little to give, he gives from that little in order to be a blessing to me. And I do the same for him! I may not have as much as someone else does (especially as relates to time and energy), but I am still called to be generous in the ways in which I am able—caring for my own needs as well as for the needs of others! Some months I don't know how we're going to pay our rent, but if a friend of mine doesn't even have money for food for today, I want to seriously consider helping them. Since I have access to the Bible in my heart language, I want to generously support those who are translating the Bible into other languages—through prayer, advocacy, and giving! Generosity does not mean lighting yourself on fire to keep other people warm. But generosity does mean mutual giving, even when it's costly or inconvenient. Even our challenges or suffering often have an element of blessing that can be shared with others; my own sufferings related to moving a lot as a child and dealing with chronic illnesses as an adult mean that my “compassion muscle” is highly developed, and though I can't use it as much as I would like to, I do have a responsibility to show compassion according to my ability. And even my small gifts of understanding and care can have big impacts in God's hands.

Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash

Sometimes it can be tempting to be defensive about our blessings and privileges, thinking that we deserve them, that we've earned them, and that we don't need to share.

Other times, we may be tempted to make a big outward show of acknowledging our privileges yet fail to actually take any practical steps towards humility or stewardship.

Christians are to be marked by humility, truth, love, and generosity. These are things that I've had opportunity to learn more about and put into practice throughout my time living in Mississippi; I hope I continue to learn and to grow. And I hope that these words can be an encouragement, a blessing, and a challenge for you as well—as you contemplate what you have and how you can use it for God's glory and for the good of people in your community and throughout the world!

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What are some of your blessings or privileges, and how do try to approach them in healthy, wise, and loving ways?