A friend of mine once preached a sermon entitled ‘Jesus is not for wimps’ in which he argued that it takes great strength to submit your life to Jesus. Another wise friend responded with ‘if Jesus isn’t for wimps, who is?’ The question succinctly picked up the truth that Jesus and His gospel is for everyone, and no one should be excluded.

One thing both Christians and unbelievers agree upon is the need to care for the marginalized in our society. I want to expand our thinking on who the marginalized might be. 

Obvious but invisible marginalized

The universally acknowledged marginalized groupings are those that form a minority in our church settings. Any indentifiable group that comprises less than 10% of a cohort usually feel marginalized, even if they are not treated as such.  In this category we usually think of ethnic groups.

A great challenge for members of our churches is to stand in the shoes of a member of this marginalized community because, sadly, we often assume that such people are ‘just like us’ and will fit in. Consequently we do not even notice their marginalization.

Not obviously marginalized

The other group I want us to consider is much harder to observe. These are the people who usually fit into a majority grouping in our church life but do not perceive themselves as actually being part of that group. This means that every time we assume them to be part of the group they become even more marginalized. Examples might be people who work in professional careers, but despise every minute of their work and cannot wait to remove themselves from it. It might be someone who is assumed to be literate but in fact is not so. It could be someone for whom we assume a specific family role, but who is unable to fulfill that role.

These marginalized folk are much harder to identify, but they are in our midst, and unless we can understand them, they will not easily be helped to grow in the faith.

What should we do?

Whenever we meet a person, we cannot help but make assumptions about them. This is normal and necessary as these assumptions become the tools of for commencing relationships. I want to ask us to listen well to what people are saying so that we can modify our assumptions if necessary. This takes practice and discipline.

The suggestion is much more difficult. We need to be willing to question what we understand as ‘normal’ and acceptable.

I must be clear about this issue. The Scriptures tell us what is right and what is wrong. I am not saying virtue is negotiable and dependent upon a person’s perception of themselves, but I am challenging our assumptions about people derived from the groups to which we ascribe them as belonging.