Who Are You Listening To

This devotional is especially for those of us who have some measure of privilege. All week we’ve been thinking about what faith looks like when things are hard. The truth is, those who have been through more difficulties (that’s one way of saying ‘those with less privileges in our culture’) often have a deeper experience of both pain and provision.

In our culture, we extol those with privilege - the millionaires, the movie stars, the beautiful/fit people, the successful. But Scripture invites us to do a lot of listening to the exact opposite kind of people.

Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor
    will also cry out and not be answered. - Proverbs 21:13

As we mentioned on Sunday, for me (Bill) it was reading the liberation theologians (particularly those in the Black Theology movement) that opened up new doors into what authentic faith can look like. We heard this quote on Sunday, but it’s worth taking some time with today.

“Suffering naturally gives rise to doubt. How can one believe in God in the face of such horrendous suffering as slavery, segregation, and the lynching tree? Under these circumstances, doubt is not a denial but an integral part of faith. It keeps faith from being sure of itself. But doubt does not have the final word. The final word is faith giving rise to hope.” ― James H. Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree

Are your ears opened to those who experience less privilege than you? What are you hearing from them? Or, alternatively, what is one way today you could open your ears more to them?