Stature

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”        Mark 10:25

This verse from the Bible speaks directly to the concept of acquired wealth and the stature it creates. In this passage, Jesus explains to his disciples the perils of wealth; warning them that a life of chasing riches and social position is fraught with the dangers of moral compromise and the subsequent abuse of those less fortunate that usually follows. In one’s quest for wealth and the societal stature it provides, the maintenance of moral integrity is more often than not a casualty. Strange but many who attend church on Sunday and who hold the Bible and its teachings as the word of God, chase wealth and power with every breath and step. I guess they are willing to chance not being able to enter the kingdom of God or they all believe themselves to be that one uniquely small camel.

I was in the gym years ago talking to an acquaintance of mine named Raymond. Raymond is six feet ten inches tall and unlike many tall people who stoop over to hide there tremendous height, he stands up straight and proud. I am five foot eight on my best day and when we converse he must look down at me as I look up at him. On this particular day we were standing next to a bench and I decided to see what it was like to be as tall as Raymond. So I stood on the bench which brought me up to his height and looked around. The world looked completely different from this new vantage point. I no longer had to look through people and machines to see across the room because I could now see over the top of everything. I climbed down off the bench and knelt down on the floor. Again the view was completely different from the one I had while just standing at my own natural height. My view and perspective were altered and directly influenced with each change of height. Tall or short, rich or poor, powerful or powerless, it is the stature of each person that establishes their unique view of the world.

We live in a culture in which wealth is power. We value possessions and the ability to acquire and own things above almost everything else. Two cars are better than one, the bigger the house is always necessary, and the label inside the coat matters. These are the outward trappings of status that allow all of us to superficially judge each other’s success. So it logically follows that wealth directly begets stature in our society. For those who are fortunate it can inspire a view of the world that makes it very hard to understand those who are struggling. In the same way it is sometimes hard for adults to understand children, teachers to comprehend the difficulties of students, coaches to accept the failure of their team, rich to have empathy for the poor, and men to understand women and vice versa. It is difficult to see the world from another’s experientially produced point of view. In part, the disconnect is caused by the different levels of social stature and the unbalanced vantage points each position provides.

When I watch the news or read an article about a person or event I am always struck by the message and the tone of the speaker. In many cases the story put forward by the messenger conveys a deep knowledge particular situation. In reality they possess very little understanding of the event or empathy for those persons involved. These are people of stature that have a podium from which to speak and the ear of millions. They have an ability to inform and educate and yet they do neither. Instead they present biased opinions laced with falsehoods. These people of status use their pulpit not to illicit understanding but to create the illusion that their opinions are relevant to solutions. They do not want to elevate anyone or anything because they want to maintain their stature, their position, their power. The lesson that Jesus spoke of to his disciples is very prophetic. It is almost impossible to maintain the integrity of self when focused on one’s own personal wealth and status.

I grew up in a very middle class family. My parents provided my siblings and I with all the things necessary to live a happy childhood and to prepare for a bright future. But with six children they did not have a lot of extra money to spend on much else including expensive vacations. So almost every summer we would all pack into the car and go on a camping trip. On one such camping trip when I was still quite young and small, I was walking around the camp site discovering little things on the ground. My mother looked down at me shaking her head and she asked me why my face was always so dirty. As she began to wipe the dirt off my face I gave her my simple answer, “Because I am a lot closer to the ground than you are”. She looked down at me blankly and said nothing. From that day forward my mother wiped the dirt off my face many times but she never again asked me why I was so dirty. I had explained and she understood; the dirt on my face was a product of my stature. I would suggest that those who live a life accented by wealth and status crouch down on occasion and look at the world from a different vantage point. Like my mother, come to the understanding that the lives of the less fortunate are the product of circumstance not fault or laziness. Perhaps then you will be able to avoid the dangers of chasing wealth and status by using your stature in society to elevate others instead of abusing it to maintain your own power.