I know – this concept has been taken up and down and all around so many times it has become boring. But equity isn’t a boring concept, and it isn’t meaningless; equity matters to a lot of people in the world. I want to start by considering the Bible and how equity has worked there. Let’s take Israel, for example. Starting in Genesis 12, God tells Abram that God will make a great nation that begins with him and Sara. The story has a lot of twists and turns; finally, in chapter 15, God says, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” A lot more happens along the way, but finally, the land flowing with milk and honey is taken from its inhabitants and given to the descendants of Abraham. In other words, God used equity to lift the people of Israel out of oppression. Israel was born out of an act of Holy Equity.
I am not saying that this was right or wrong, and I am not saying that it really happened the way it did; what I am saying is that this is the biggest equity project in history! God literally chose one group over all others and helped them kill anyone who stood in their way. And this isn’t the only time that people of faith believe that God chooses sides; many Christians believe that Jesus is the only way, and the only way to get to heaven is to say you believe that He is God’s Son/Incarnation (they are slightly different, by the way). Heaven isn’t a place where every God lover/fearer gets to go – heaven is not about equality. For many Christians (not me), calling God Allah or Jehovah or any other name automatically excludes you, even though those are just particular names for God in those languages. God is not an equal opportunity saver. And if you believe that Jesus died to take our sins away so that we could get to heaven (again, I am not a substitutionary atonement kind of guy), that is also equity; God is giving some of us a break and others not.
My point is that equity exists to produce justice. If equity was not part of college grants when I was 18, I never would have gone to college – even Community College would have been financially out of my reach. And sure, I worked 55 hours a week while doing all of my higher education, but that could not cover the costs; the government allowed me to attend college even though I couldn’t afford it. That is equity! If we didn’t have equity, states wouldn’t give poorer school districts more, percentage-wise, than wealthier districts (it still isn’t totally equitable, but that is for another time). I don’t believe in free rides unless everyone gets them, but equity matters because it is an attempt to make up for injustice, and we Americans have always claimed to care about that. Christians and Muslims and Jews and every other good person as well. Equity is an act of goodness – Inequity is an act of the hardened heart. God uses equity to balance human sin and greed. God loves equity because God loves justice. Equity brings about equality. Opposing all equity is to support injustice. Done.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for allowing us to find our way, and for supporting us against those who would mistreat us because we are different. Thank You for justice. Amen.
Today’s art is “Equity” by Favianna Rodriguez, 2020.