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Class Act

Social Class structure is present in every country whether we acknowledge it or not. Somehow the human race tends to place a status on job position, income or other factors that make us look up or look down on people.

Have you noticed this dilemma in the workplace? Esteeming those with a title, ignoring those who hold the menial jobs around us.

In the United States, Sociologists Dennis Gilbert, William Thompson, Joseph Hickey, and James Henslin have proposed class systems with six distinct social classes. These class models feature an upper or capitalist class consisting of the rich and powerful, an upper middle class consisting of highly educated and affluent professionals, a middle class consisting of college-educated individuals employed in white-collar industries, a lower middle class composed of semi-professionals with typically some college education, a working class constituted by clerical and blue collar workers whose work is highly routinized, and a lower class divided between the working poor and the unemployed underclass.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class_in_the_United_States

No matter what country you live in, what "class" you find yourself in, or what perspective people have of you, the good news is we all stand on the same ground before God! Everyone.

Through Paul the apostle, this mystery is explained in Ephesians 3 (Message Bible):

The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of Him all their lives (what I've been calling the outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.

This is an amazing fact of life that we can treasure on both ends of the spectrum. No matter who our mama or daddy is or was, no matter how much education we have attained, no matter what our job title is, we can say with the psalmist David, "The Lord is my chosen and assigned portion, my cup; You hold and maintain my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage."

Jesus accomplished a "Class Act" at the cross. He destroyed bias, shame, false exaltation and the evil pecking order reserved only for the barnyard. He restored dignity, worth and accessibility to all the promises of God, to one and all.

As we embrace this precious message for ourselves, let's also remember to extend it to others and treat everyone with class. After all, the ultimate Class Act is our example.

Ellene Meece lives in Meeker, Colorado and works with her husband in their natural resource company while running her own online store, Grandma's Treasures Online.

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