Dignity for the Disregarded
My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? James 2:1 NLT
Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those who are being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. Hebrews 13:3 NLT
Insight
We don’t often confront or acknowledge the way we devalue marginalized groups. In today’s world, treating certain populations as if they are less than human is all too normalized. We are hardly conscious of the way we fail to respect and dignify so many of God’s beloved children.
We often avoid making eye-contact with individuals facing homelessness. When they enter restaurants or shops, we wait expectantly for management to kick them out. We believe they are drug-addicted, dirty, and “too lazy” to find work. We assume they are to blame for their condition. We fail to have compassion for them. We fail to see them as our equals.
We write-off those in prison as inherently “bad” people. We treat them as if they are beyond redemption. We buy into the lie that some crimes are so severe that they cannot be forgiven by the God of all grace. We define incarcerated people by the mistakes of their past, even though God refuses to view them as the sum of their mistakes. We label them as “criminals,” rather than seeing them as people who Jesus joyfully died for.
We often look down on those who are wrestling with addiction, those who have sexual or gender identities that confuse us, those who are divorced, those who don’t speak our language, those guilty of infidelity, those who are estranged from their families, those who work in low-paying jobs… the list goes on.
The reality is this: every person we encounter is loved wholly and completely by our Father in heaven. Everybody we meet is made in God’s Holy image. When we mistreat or devalue someone who God created and Jesus died for, we offend God. We break the first and most supreme commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).
We are not just called to see these people as equal to ourselves. Jesus challenges us to go further than simply dignifying those around us. We are called to serve them as Jesus served the Church, and to consider them better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5).
Reflection
Are there any groups of people that you struggle to see as God’s beloved children? How can you go beyond acknowledging their identity in Christ and serve them?
Prayer
Abba, thank You for valuing every last one of the 8 billion people on earth. Thank You for calling them Your own, regardless of the sins they’ve committed in the past or what they are wrestling with in the present. Your love for every person You’ve created extends beyond my finite understanding! Help me to have Your eyes to see those around me. Don’t let me judge others or label them as unredeemable. Open my eyes and convict me when I view people around me as less than human. Bring me to repentance. Show me how to humble myself before those I fail to dignify. Remind me to serve them selflessly and value them above myself. Your love toward us is unconditional, God. Teach me how to remove any conditions I require of others before they can have my love and respect. Amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.