What is class?
Dictionary.com’s eighth definition simply defines it as, “The system of dividing society”
So, from what I understand, Class is simply an illusion created by man to give him more self worth than he deserves. In doing this he does exactly what the definition says. Real Estate is one way to look at this. The rich do not want their home near poor people because it makes the property value go down. There are very few rich man that would choose to live next door to a poor Hispanic man that lives in an undersized house with his wife, 2 children, and his mother. Because of this entire neighborhoods are build based on what the intended residing class will be, thus seperating the rich and the poor. Why would we do such a thing? Because we are bound to this illusion.
As a (younger) child I was taught that it is safer in certain neighborhoods. I was taught not to talk to strangers. I was taught to constantly be afraid of the possibility of injuring myself. I was taught that this world is messed up and out to get you. And looking back, I think this is all wrong. Safety as well as class is also an illusion created to give peace to the minds of those who cannot find it normally. There is nothing more to it.
If you believe in a God, wouldn’t that mean you believe he is watching over you. This would also be linked to the belief that he is on your side and understands you. If I personally truly believed these two things with all my heart I know that I wouldn’t be living the average Christian life that I am. I would probably be considered crazy compared to the standard. I would take enormous risks everyday. I would do things, that would normally be considered stupid, and not worry or fear, because I understood and believed the above truth. I know it would change everything.
But I don’t because as a child I (as many children do) I received extremely mixed messages. I was never told to be bold, I was told to be nice. No one ever told me to trust in God, they told me to wear a helmet. Every statement of trust and faith was countered doubly with statements of Fear and Paranoia. My parents wanted me to live by faith, but they also wanted me to be safe. Its an odd conflict that is very hard to understand.
I think that in theory, these two were not meant to be together. If we truly live by faith, we have no need for safety. There are many examples in the bible of this. The painfully obvious example is the ever famous David & Goliath. David had decided that killing Goliath was something God wanted him to do, so he did it. At one point he was offered safety and he declined. There is simply no need for safety when faith is truly present.
Where does that leave us, a fearful society driven by the goal of a higher income and greater class resulting in higher self worth and a larger degree of separation from those under us. It leaves us building gated communities, and installing security systems. It leaves us carrying flashlights and loaded pistols when we go out to walk out dog at night. We use our money to give us what we feel we need, a sense of Safety. We look inside this system we have created to give us what we want, when we should be looking up.