So many times when I see something that is different from what I am used to I think of it as superior or inferior. For whatever reason different cannot seem to simply be different. But as I am encountering more and more life and I am learning more and more about the world I am realizing how wrong I am in thinking that way. For example, different people worship God in different ways, none being better or worse... simply different. Or another thought: different people represent different aspects of God (if we still believe that we are all image bearers).
However, there are certain things that are in fact worse or better then others. This distinction, I am finding is very difficult to make. The only example that comes to mind is this: people who live a life attempting to become like Christ are better off then people who do not. The difficulty in making these distinctions can be observed by looking at the mysterious human heart.
The human heart cannot be defined, nor predicted. One cannot tell what is happening in someone else's heart (at least not all the time), nor can one tell what is happening in their own heart. We cannot explain why we fall in love. We cannot explain why a person would give up their entire life for something that does not even directly benefit them. Again, the only way I can make sense of the human heart is by eluding it all to God. We fall in love because God loves us and we desire to love others in the same way. We give up our own well being because God has given up His to bring peace and joy to us. I believe that human beings ultimately long for Joy, and I believe that Joy comes only from God.
With these thoughts in mind, let us proceed to the main topic of this entry: oppression. My first question is this: can a person or people truly be oppressed?
When the rich look upon the poor, what do they see? The rich likely see the poor as unfortunate or worse off then them. However, quite to the contrary, it may be the rich who are less fortunate. But with these ideas of Joy and difference in mind, one could say that neither is more or less fortunate. For the difference between rich and poor is difference. Neither is better or worse. So in order to see which is better or worse off, one must look at the situation through the eyes of Christ and not the eyes that they have developed over their years.
What then, of a man who lives under a democracy where the freedom of the individual is held high versus a man who lives under a monarchy where only the king matters? Is one better off then the other? Is one oppressed? What of a man who is ruled as a slave? Is he oppressed? Is joy in equal reach of all three of these men?
I believe it is Hinduism, where it is customary for a man to live the life he is born into. If a man is born poor, it is best for him to remain poor. If a man is born rich, it is best for him to remain rich. If a man is born a slave, it is best for him to remain a slave. The idea is that each man would live the best life he could in the life he was born into.
Is this Hindu belief a word to the wise or a word to the fool? Is it oppressive for a man to not have the option to move on to different things (I would say "bigger and better" things, but we have established that different is not better or worse)? Or is it wise for a man to live in the life that he is born into and live the best possible life he can? Should kings be kings and peasants be peasants?
I believe that one should not reach out of his immediate surroundings for joy.
God is everywhere, so a man does not need to embark on a journey to find joy. In fact, I think it would be wiser for a man to find joy where he is rather then journey for it. I say this because if you find joy where you are, you can bring it with you. But if you go out looking for joy, it is possible that your life will be the search. Life is indeed a journey, and one should not expect that happiness and joy should be the same thing.
In your life right now, what are you viewing as worse? What are you viewing as better?
"If I only had ____" or "if only I were _____"
What can you be open minded about? What can you allow to be different rather then better or worse?
Grace and Peace,
Ben
