Are We Really Created Equal?
The renowned former Oklahoma Sooner and Dallas Cowboy football coach Barry Switzer once quipped, “Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.” Switzer’s remark, while humorous, also conveys an important truth: Some people enter the world with far greater advantages than others. In our democratic society all people may be equal before the law, but when it comes to being born with equal abilities and talents, there are wide disparities.
Barry Switzer, Oklahoma University Football Head Coach
Life is not fair and not everyone starts out in the same place. Consider the advantages of people born into wealth, or those who enjoy excellent health, beauty, superior intelligence or innate gifts such as music or athleticism, and it becomes clear that segments of the population have a decided advantage over others through no effort of their own.
Of course, a case can be made for those who work hard and overcome their birth disadvantages. A quick search on the internet reveals dozens of famous people who started out far behind but through sheer hard work achieved remarkable success. These people serve as models and give disadvantaged people hope that they, too, can reach the American Dream, if only they persevere and keep their nose to the grindstone.
Still, when you read the stories of these rags-to-riches tales, one aspect of their climb to fame stands out: They were born with incredible gifts—innate talents and abilities that many of us don’t have. These remarkable people may have managed to hit a triple on their own, but they were born with the gifts that made it possible for them to hit the triple. In other words, their hard work wasn’t the only thing that pushed them to the top. They, too, were born with advantages most people don’t have.
I was in first grade when I learned that I could outrun the other kids in my class. Running came naturally to me and I loved to run. Throughout my teen years my gift allowed me to become a fairly good athlete and eventually led to a football scholarship that paid my way through college. Sure, I worked hard, but I was given a gift at birth. My older brother also worked hard and desperately wanted to run fast, but try as he might, running just wasn’t his thing, which frustrated him to no end.
Later on, when I entered college, I was confronted with my own sense of frustration. With more competition, I soon learned that while I could run fast, there were other athletes who could run just as fast, if not faster. And they were bigger and stronger and better athletes. No matter how hard I worked, I would never be able to catch up to them. Yes, I could learn to play smarter or with more tenacity, but all things equal, the more talented athlete would prevail over me.
The inequities didn’t stop with sports. Even in the classroom there were students more gifted than I. They grasped ideas more quickly and mastered concepts with less effort. I envied how easily they consumed books and wrote amazing papers. I recognized early on that my abilities would never put me at the top of the class or be the prize athlete.
But then I thought of other people who I’d studied with or competed against, people who could not learn as quickly or run as fast, and realized that I had been born with advantages they didn’t have. Maybe I had not been born on third base, but neither had I been born in the dugout, where I may never have even gotten a chance to get into the game.
The biblical writers were well aware that some people come into the world with greater assets than others. The Scriptures also remind us that those who have been gifted with much are responsible to help lift up those with lesser gifts, not so that those who have started life far back from the starting line can grow dependent on others, but so that they can at least get into the game (Lk. 12:48) and have a reasonable chance to rise to the level of their abilities.
Even when people get into the game, their chances to succeed are still limited by factors such as genetics, family wealth, educational opportunities, and life experiences. In our competitive world, people who start out far back in the pack can easily be left behind. Highly successful people may look at these people barely hanging on and think, “If only they would have worked as hard as I have, then they too would have been successful.” Usually that is not the case. More often than not, the less successful started out in life with one hand tied behind their back.
There are many things about Jesus that draw me to try and follow in his steps, but his merciful treatment of the people on the margins appeals to me on a deeply spiritual level. Jesus was like a parent who has a number of children and cares for all of them, but he is especially attentive to the children born with greater needs than the others. Perhaps they entered the world with health issues or learning disabilities or were unfortunate with the gene pool, but whatever their disadvantage, Jesus understands that these children will have a tougher go in life, and therefore he takes special notice of them and reaches out to them with sympathy and compassion. He invites his followers to do the same.
Life can be cruel and many people suffer and struggle with life far more than others. But, as followers of Jesus, we have made a commitment to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. We have chosen to look out for the less privileged, the disadvantaged and the weaker members of our society. We have made a decision, as followers of Jesus, to live more simply so that others may simply live—to help give others a chance to get into the game.
