Today in class my professor spoke of an incident where there he was positioned to speak for a group working for social justice.  He is a white man.  His angst was that he noticed that when the other speakers (all from minority groups) were speaking, the members of the governmental council were talking, getting coffee and "not listening" to them.  When he was asked to speak by the social justice group, he noticed that when he stepped up to the podium, the council members (all white men, I believe) came to attention to listen to what he had to say.  He bemoaned the fact that it took him being the "white face" of a group which most of the minority participants do so much of the work.  After he told of this incident, I commented to the class that this was an effective use of privilege.

In life and at some point in it we experience both being privileged and the marginalized.  Note here that I am not speaking of privilege in the institutional sense, but in the contextual.  For example white males in a social organization that privileges the African American experience are marginalized within that context.  A black transgender woman would have privilege in a community of transgender and gender-non-conforming above that of a black heterosexual male.  Privilege and marginality are a part of life.  As my professor gave the example, "It is like gravity.  No matter how much I want to overcome it, it still keeps me on the ground."

So, what then becomes the faithful and just use of privilege?  I think Isaiah's analogy of the mountains and the valleys provide for us a key to the answer.  He says, "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low..." (Isaiah 40:4).  The concept of leveling is the imagery that supports my understanding of the effective use of privilege.  Privileged used to raise the estate of the marginalized aligns with this prophetic purpose.  In order to do this, Privilege must humble itself or "be made low."

Conversely, Marginality must effectively participate in speaking to the Privilege or "speaking truth to power."  It must realize its own value and work towards its own valley being exalted.  But there is a humility still involved.  It is a humility that recognizes and celebrates its own powerfulness yet yeilds to the greater good of leveling.

I believe that God is actively on the side of both the marginalized and the privileged.  Sufficient examples of God being for the marginalized has been given to us by liberation theology.  But, I believe that God is on the side of the privileged as the "mountains and hills [are] made low."  The humbling of the privileged is not a punishment but a benefit to them and to the greater human community.

Thus, the use of privilege should not be something that is automatically looked upon with disdain.  Privilege must be utilized in the fight for social justice.  When we utilize our privilege to speak and act in solidarity with those who are marginalized, we will see the power of God in its leveling glory!