The fact is that in life, different people get different benefits. Calling these things ‘privileges’ isn’t entirely wrong, but when you compare it to the word ‘blessings’, it shows the deceitful difference in connotation.

When people use the word ‘privilege’, there are a loose set of connotations that most people would understand are associated with it (generally). It suggests that these benefits unfairly raise you above some other person, and that there is a social disharmony created by that. It suggests that in some measure, these benefits corrupt the goodness of your character, or at the very least place you in exactly the kind of circumstance where we should expect to see your character start to corrupt. Below are a few generic phrases that you may have heard, and which carry something of this network of meanings:

• “Yeah but these laws were made by a bunch of privileged old white guys”
• “Honesty, I think that’s just your privilege speaking”
• “I feel like you can’t speak to this issue due to your privilege”

You might be thinking, ‘yeah there might be some truth to what you’re saying, but so what? People have to use words, and I think that one is just fine’. It is most certainly not. If your ‘privileges’ are unfair, if they corrupt you, if they improperly raise you above your common man, it is both easy and morally justifiable (in the minds of many), both on the personal and societal levels, to take action to change that. ‘We could even things out and make it better and more fair. Perhaps even, we should.’ More on this later.

On the other hand, you could choose to look at a person’s benefits as ‘blessings’. Blessings are more naturally conceived as those pieces of fortune granted to unworthy man by a Good Father. This view sees benefits not as the random but unfair outcomes of chance, but rather as the intentional outcomes of a person’s will and agency. This is a large part of the doctrine of ‘Providence’, which John Piper has described as God’s ‘purposeful sovereignty’. This way, when one person receives X and another Y, and a third person receives nothing at all, you can’t step in and correct some non-personal mistake of chance, but rather you have to reckon with the fact that the almighty and most merciful God intentionally gave out his gifts in that manner. Providence is personal, and the person behind it is God. God’s every action is good, and the goodness of Providence is therefore unimpeachable.

So, how does this all connect? Palestine? Christmas? Cancelling out privilege?

Well, unfortunately, a political action group planned the “Crash the Christmas Windows” protest, which was attended with the tagline “Christmas is cancelled, and there will be no joy or frivolity while children in Gaza are massacred.”.

To be clear, this protest was not designed to destroy property or to harm those families who would attend the windows, but it was designed to disrupt the gaiety and joy of the occasion (the unveiling of the Myer Christmas Windows, a long-standing Christmas tradition in Melbourne), and there’s no two ways about it: that’s grinch behaviour.

See, here’s the thing. If you think that all people need to have the same benefits before anyone can use or enjoy what they have in front of them (the ‘privilege’ mindset), you might feel justified in preventing Melburnians from enjoying Christmas, citing the very real and painful truth that almost every Gazan can’t. However, if you are a Christian, you ought to have the ‘blessings’ or Providence mindset: God has given you gifts, and he intends for you to enjoy them. You don’t have to be ashamed when you enjoy them either. God’s gifts are supposed to be embraced with enthusiasm.

Now please, do not assume that by our silence we are unfeeling for the plight of the Palestinians. This author cared deeply for their cause long before October 7 put them in public consciousness. The abundance of compassion this author feels for the sojourning Palestinians has been the motivation behind several posts and topics that we would love to enlarge on further at a later date.

But this Christmas, let us receive every good and perfect gift from a Father who loves each one of us, and who gave the world the ultimate gift of his son: A Jew born in Palestine, who is the king of every nation, and who will one day bring real, visible, tangible peace to every child of God who receives that gift with joy. So rejoice. And don’t let anyone smear your blessings as ‘privilege’.