My daughters are exceptional women. This is a picture I took of Amber (one of my girls) the last time we were in India. These women live in a caste system that declares them "untouchable." These women are Dalits; they live outside the varna system altogether. They suffer social segregation and restriction, in addition to extreme poverty. They are called, "outcasts, even among outcasts."
Look at them.
Would you take their place? Would you give up your life of ease and swap places with one of these women? Would you live their life, eat their food, battle their hunger or face their plight? Would you fight their filth and drink their water? Would you empty yourself of power to live one of their lives of penury and servitude?
No? Neither would I.
There is no way I would choose to leave my position and live the rest of my days in their skins; no way. And yet, that is exactly what Jesus did for us. He emptied himself and took on our flesh...
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:5-8
What wondrous love is this, O my Soul? What wondrous love is this?
welcome to the blogging world. Good to hear your thoughts.
-jordan muck
www.theendisforever.com
Posted by: Jordan | February 27, 2008 at 04:02 PM
I love this post! What Wondrous Love is This...one of my favorite hymns! There is some quality stuff in those hymns.
Posted by: Sarah Koutz | February 27, 2008 at 04:23 PM
Pastor,
In 2001, as a college junior, I had the opportunity to travel to to South Africa as a representative at the United Nations Conference Against Racism. One day, sitting in front of a computer in a massive press room, I introduced myself to an Indian man. When I asked why he was there, he informed me that he was a Dalit. When I learned of his plight and the plight of his people, I was shocked. In part because of their oppression, we hear nearly nothing of Dalits in the US.
I particularly like seeing that your daughter's hand is on the arm of a person that has been deemed untouchable.
Thanks for sharing this.
-Shaun & Crew
Posted by: Shaun King | February 27, 2008 at 07:55 PM
Pastor,
If I did not look at the picture of those beautiful women with your daughter and only read the description of their life, I could easily imagine them to be a group of homeless, a child in a school who has been rejected or deemed insignificant by his peers, or the elderly patient who has been placed in a room in a facility for the remainder of their days. It seems to me that we humans are very good at casting aside others. I am so grateful that my Lord and Savior is there to pick them up.
Posted by: Lynn Holcomb | February 28, 2008 at 07:43 AM
A FEW YEARS BACK I WORKED WITH YOUR DAUGHTER AT LUNKERS. A QUESTION SHE ONCE ASKED ME ALWAYS STUCK IN MY HEART. SHE ASKED " SI -- ARE YOU A MINISTER ? " SOMETIMES I DON'T FEEL LIKE MINISTER TYPE MATERIAL BUT THOUGHTS OF THAT QUESTION MAKE ME REGRET NOT ACTING LIKE I SHOULD!!!!
Posted by: SI IGNOWSKI | February 29, 2008 at 08:22 PM
i am so upset that india treat dalits, which are also their relatives, in this manner. most untouchables have african in them. my question is, who doesn't? i wish that i was wealthy enough to save them all, but i am not god. someday god will give them justice.if they all could move elsewhere then those indians would see what life would be like without them. does human kindness exist over there? karma? the only thing i believe is that someday the wrongdoers will get theirs. their punishment should be... born in their next lives to a group 10x lower than dalits; and the best part? dalits will be their masters. i can't believe these savages are our ally. i wonder what our president has to say about this. i honestly thought that they were on the road to fairness and equality like south africa. with all the groups that have conquered India in the past, and treated them worse than horse manure, how on earth can any of them think or believe that their race or caste group is pure or that they are better than anyone?
Posted by: daniellejudith | December 30, 2009 at 05:04 AM
Wow i totally agree I dont like the caste system at all and i wish i cod go over to India to banish it (but not bcum a martyr) and i think who cares wat caste u come frm (if u liv in india) its who u r in gods eyes thats wat really counts
Posted by: Caroline | April 14, 2010 at 10:52 PM
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Posted by: Fernandez24Sheryl | September 17, 2010 at 05:13 AM