Pigeon-holed

May 6

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” Galatians 3:38.

Man tends to delineate distinctions between himself and others. Many ‘royals’ find it unthinkable that they might ever associate with, let alone marry, a commoner. Rich people find little commonality with their less-financially endowed counterparts (other than perhaps to make tax-deductible donations to causes that are designed to alleviate poverty).

Well-educated people rarely conduct conversations with those whose academic credentials are wanting. Nationality and race are two frequently used points of differentiation with which man separates himself from his brothers.

Recently, a wealthy sports team owner found himself in a firestorm of angry criticism because of remarks he made to his mixed race paramour regarding her association with people of a race other than his own.

The total irony of this situation is that an aging lothario, an adulterer, insisted that the woman in question was perfectly welcome to interact with anyone whom she chose, as long as she did not bring them to his team’s sporting events. My speculation is that it isn’t the race of the men in question that this unfortunate tycoon disdained, rather, it is their youth and physical prowess.

Although he was baited into making racial comments that were inappropriate, a viable speculation is that it is his own unfavorable comparison to these young, attractive, virile men that he could not abide.

In light of the fact that the only advantage he has over any of them is his financial portfolio, it seems probable that his preference that his young girlfriend not be with them at his team’s games is because he didn’t want to have to face the reality of his agedness. How could he look at her with them and tell himself she finds him desirable (other than for his money!)

The team owner is paying a steep price for his comments, whatever their true intent may be. His discrimination has cost him much money and much respect in a community that had honored him in the past and intended to honor him again.

No doubt he has been required to ponder at great length the firestorm of criticism that has befallen him since the publication of his remarks, but I wonder if he has given any consideration at all to the one line of demarcation between men that God sees.

We see clearly from our introductory verse (Galatians 3:38) that God does not categorize people by societal status, by wealth, by political clout, by gender, by nationality, by race, but He does mark a very clear line of separation between those who are eternally damned and those who are eternally favored—and that line of demarcation is Christ.

No matter what pigeon hole the world puts us into, we are free to enter the flock of believers who will soar into the heavenlies to join Jesus in the air on that great and glorious day when the trumpet of the archangel sounds and the Lord comes to take the redeemed to Himself forever! (See I Corinthians 15:52 and I Thessalonians 4:16.)

And that’s one category into which we all should aspire to be placed.