Thoughts on Equity, Equality & Justice pt 2
Big Idea: what will be different for my kids’ future if they don’t experience the same level of privilege & opportunity that I had?
A couple of weeks ago, I published a blog where I processed the idea that equity, equality & justice will need to cost me something. In an effort to keep that blog from being too long, I kept a few thoughts out that I wanted to share here.
As I wrestle with the implications of losing & even actively forfeiting the privileges I’ve had in my 37 years, I recognize there may be opportunities & advantages that have been afforded to me so far that just might not be the case in my next 37 years. I think I can handle it costing me something. What might be harder, and what I want to process a little more here, is that the same will need to be true for my kids.
For those who don’t know me personally, I have 3 little rascals.
Berkley is 11. She is so sweet, giggly, creative & nurturing.
Daphne is 9. She is wild, passionate, bold & a reader.
Foster is 7. He is funny, sensitive, imaginative & an aggressive snuggler.
A classic goal of parenthood is the desire for our kids to have it better than we did. Often, I feel like that sentiment is used in regard to upward mobility. We want our kids to live in a nicer house than we did...to have more/better stuff than we did…to have more opportunities than we had.
Makes sense. It sure is hard to imagine the opposite. I’m not sure of any parents who want their kids to live in poverty with no opportunities. Personally, I can’t imagine a much better childhood than the one I had. However, I’ve been challenged lately to think about that adage - wanting my kids to have it better than I did - as a far less personal hope & a far more communal/cultural hope.
Lately, I’m feeling more and more concerned with the culture & the society
that we’re leaving our children & our grandchildren vs their opportunities for success.
I also recognize that is a statement that probably reeks of privilege.
Here’s what I think I mean.
Like all parents, I love my kids like crazy & I want the world for them. I want them to accomplish everything they want to accomplish. I want them to achieve their goals. Deeper than the goals they achieve & what they accomplish, though, I want them to be the kind of people that God created them to be. I want them to live out the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. I want them to find their passions & live them out. I want them to love & lead & serve others well. I want them to live an unbelievably joyful, peaceful, fulfilled & love-riddled life.
My hope is that them living in a world with greater equity, equality & justice adds to the quality of their life more than the opportunities & privileges they may have benefited from at the cost of the marginalized. And as a friend reminded me when having a similar conversation, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
I’m still wrestling with this & obviously don’t have all the answers. All I know at this point is that I want to do my best to follow Jesus. I want my kids to choose to do the same. In doing so, I hope they grow to measure their life - not in their opportunities, achievements, possessions - but in things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
