I have overheard people say, “Oh, she/he is important.” Invariably, person is establishing the importance of the person based upon their role. Administrative and leadership roles infer greater prominence over technical or manual labor. “Important” tends to denote a greater value over others. In a Christian Worldview, is not each person equal before God? Some roles consider greater levels of responsibility. So, is that determinative of their importance, or, does society solely consider prestige, money, and power?
God’s image seems caught in the midst of favoritism, blessing those individuals and giving attention to those who are important enough to warrant it. The church also assigns greater levels of importance in its hierarchical structure. Jesus valued the widow who contributed the mite; the church values individuals who can help attain financial goals (buildings, etc.) and fill certain roles. Our value, identity, and roles intertwine.
There was a period, a six-year transition, where people asked me what I was currently doing. I was compelled to tell them, “Nothing.” At the basic level, I was being obedient to God, but even people in the church had difficulty believing that I was doing ‘nothing.’ I had to be doing something. In addition, it messed with my own sense of value and identity.
Even recently, I took a rank reduction in order to be an Air Force Chaplain Candidate. Last summer, I was surprised at how much this affected me. By my uniform/rank, I looked like I had no experience, and some conversations reflected a lower level of respect. The authority and respect of my position and experience were gone, but I was still the same person who warranted those qualities. And don't we all, as individuals uniquely created and gifted by God and endowed by a variety of experiences, warrant a level of respect?
I wrestled with it, and God reminded of the necessity of me to learn people’s stories. I could place judgments of value, usually done unconsciously, on people based upon their rank, position, and title. It is easy for that to happen, since even my identity is enmeshed with my role/activity.
Even as I consider Biblical characters and positions, I sometimes assign greater value to different individuals. This really does an injustice to God’s character, portraying him as someone who really cares about what we can do for him. In any role, whether simple or complicated, God desires relationship.
A relationship centered on Him and defined by love, worship, and obedience. God is not interested in my role, but in who I am as a person. I think God hopes that I will also be interested in who He is and others are. That I will continually recognize the value and importance of people as who He has created and called them to be, not on what the world or I may consider important.
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