All Men Are Created Equal

                                                                                            

Aloha Dearest Children,

It is well known that this country was founded by believers and that the founding father's idea was to establish the nation on Godly principles. They knew that in order for the nation to continue and to thrive, God would have to be at the heart of the country's founding. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." (Psalm 127:1) One need only examine the documents there are at the nation's core to see this plainly. The idea that "all men are created equal" is based upon Biblical principles, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (The Declaration of Independence-1776). Many years later, Abraham Lincoln also referred back to this phrase, "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal." (Gettysburg Address-1863) This was a new idea. No other nation had made their citizens "equal" with each other.

Man, if left to his own devices, will always lean toward separation and division. It seems it is the state of all mankind to exalt himself above others and deem others to be less. We have seen this since the beginning of time. If we examine any country in the world we will find separation and inequality. In England, for example, their society is based upon the nobility (the betters) and the rest (the common). You can see this in the English Parliament known as The House of Lords and the House of Commons. For many years India (and parts of Africa) had a society based upon a "Caste" system, where the higher Castes were offered the top jobs in government and the lower Castes held the manual labor jobs. The higher the Caste the higher the respect.

In the Bible, this is clearly seen at the times of the first century church. The Samaritans, for example, were shunned by all Jewish people. They were considered as "half-Jews." (They were Jews in practice but not by blood). The Jewish people had no dealings at all with Samaritans. Samaria was located between Galilee and Judea and when traveling, people would always go around Samaria, never through it. The parable of the "Good Samaritan" brings on a whole new meaning when understood in this light. (See Luke 10:30-37) Of all the people that should have helped the injured man, none had expected the hated Samaritan to show this kind of kindness.

The people of Israel had many other separations as well. Separations in class, religion, ethnicity and geography were common place in that society. But because of the work accomplished by Jesus Christ, a new idea became available. When the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians, he wrote something that must have shook their world. 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28) 

This verse speaks of a concept never before considered in the culture at the time. Let us look at these groups more closely.

-Jew or Greek (Gentiles) - Gentiles were considered uncircumcised dogs, unclean and defiled. (They were hated even more than the Samaritans were). For the Jewish people to consider the Gentiles as equals was unthinkable. But this separation was done away with in Christ.

-Bond (Bond servants) or Free - Many rich people owned slaves (or bond servants) and there was an enormous class difference between the two. Now, in Christ, there was no longer a separation. The new birth eliminated these barriers.

-Male or Female — In the ancient East women were considered second class citizens. In many families they were treated as nothing more than property. The rights of males far outweighed the rights of females. But in God's eyes they were now both alike. They both equally had all of the legal rights that Jesus Christ earned for them and that God had given them. Furthermore, anyone born again of God's spirit was now just as righteous as anyone else in God's family. Each child was placed into the "one body", Jesus Christ being the head of that body. Each member has an important and vital role to play in this body, but no one was more important that anyone else. They were now "equals".

Now, this verse in Galatians (Galatians 3:28) did not change the culture in which they lived. But this did offer them a different way of treating each other. Children in God's family, no matter where they came from or who they were, are encouraged to treat each other as brothers and sisters.

This is why our founding fathers included the phrase "all men are created equal" in their  founding documents (because in Christ we are). It is only men who separate themselves and think of themselves as superior. But we should all treat each other the way God sees us - as one in Christ. And this is why every American is born with the God given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And each one equal to one another.

Love Always, Ray