The equality myth

In George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, the animals who took over the farm took as a basic principle that all animals are created equal. Once the tyrannical pigs took over this was changed to read, “All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.”

Such are the perils of the concept of equality. It may not sound fashionable, but it is simply not true that all humans are equal. When it comes to rewiring my house, I am not equal to an electrician. When it comes to understanding Japanese, I am not equal to a native Japanese speaker. We are not all equally intelligent or equally skilled or equally mature.

Our text reminds us that we are not to have an over-inflated view of ourselves. And the implication is that we are not to demean ourselves either. An honest estimation of ourselves arises out of the Christian faith we have in common. (Not the amount of faith I might have in a certain situation). That Christian faith tells me I fall short of God’s standards and so cannot boast. It also tells me that I am much loved by God who longs to have relationships with me.

Any equality we have doesn’t arise out of some mythical ideal. It arises out of the fact that we are all made by God and loved by God. We are thoroughly unequal in many areas of life, but as the old saying goes, the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

Blessings
David Reay