davidbowerkingwood

Noun 1. noblesse oblige – the obligation of those of high rank to be honorable and generous (often used ironically) duty, obligation, responsibility – the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force; “we must instill a sense of duty in our children”; “every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty”- John D.Rockefeller Jr (The Free Dictionary.com.

Having been born (the first time) and raised in Texas, in modest circumstances, the very notion of nobility and privilege had always seemed to be very remote and irrelevant to my life; when I was born-again, by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, and began to grow in my Christian faith I began to realize I was more involved than I had guessed.

Do You Belong to the Nobility?

In some parts of the United States a class system based on money and power has developed over the years but that is probably true to some degree of all human gatherings of any size; a pecking order develops and some see themselves as superior to others for an assortment of reasons.

The benchmark for exclusivity can take many forms; the most obvious are wealth and power over others. In other cases, the benchmark can be simply the length of time one’s family has participated in some sort of social gathering, it may be a community or even an organization; anyone who has not lived/participated in the gathering for the prerequisite amount of time is considered an outsider, a stranger to the group and therefore inferior to those who have met that particular requirement.

Regardless of the arbitrary points of reference used to define the nature of one’s imagined exclusivity, the fact of the matter is we are all sinners before God and must be born-again, born the second time by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, if we are to escape the judgement which is inevitably coming. By receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we not only escape the coming judgement but find ourselves elevated to the ultimate royal family, the family of God.

Noblesse Oblige for God’s Family

Noblesse oblige is a French phrase literally meaning “nobility obligates”. It denotes the concept that nobility extends beyond mere entitlements and requires the person who holds such a status to fulfill social responsibilities. For example, a primary obligation of a nobleman could include generosity towards those around him. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

As members of God’s royal family, we too have many responsibilities to both the Lord and our fellow man. God desires his children to live their lives in a manner that reflects well on the family.

We do not have to wonder what our attitude should be and how we should behave ourselves; the Bible makes it quite clear in several places. One of my favorites is Galatians 5:22-26 where it is written:

^“22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

The Bible also makes it clear we cannot do this in our own power; we must have God, the Holy Spirit empowering us if we are to consistently express the Christian’s “noblesse oblige” in our lives.

The Challenge Before Us

Christians face a remarkable challenge; we live in two realities, a spiritual and a physical reality at the same time. What makes this so difficult is the only reality we can experience with our senses is the physical; the spiritual reality which is equally real and actually more enduring can only be perceived by faith.

The nature of our spiritual reality can only be seen and understood through the pages of scripture; it is only there we can catch a glimpse of what is true about our spiritual existence. What is really strange to consider is the spiritual reality will far outlast the physical reality in which we find ourselves and is so easily observed with our senses; yet, in the truest sense we must so focus our thoughts and minds on the truths of our spiritual reality that they become more real to us than the world we can see, taste, hear, touch and smell. This is what is meant when Paul writes, “⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

At this point you may be asking yourself what does this have to do with noblesse oblige and there is a simple answer to that in my mind; the more we think of ourselves as children of God the easier it becomes to think in terms of our obligations to the family to properly represent the family’s values to those with whom we come in contact; for those we meet, we are the family’s representative.

You have a responsibility that was conferred upon you when you joined the family of God by your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior; you became a child of God, a child in God’s family and you must now let your duty to the family control your behavior and attitude toward others.

No one ever said this would be easy and quite frankly, without the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit it is impossible. Therefore, (in a Pauline sense) let the power of the Holy Spirit always be in control of your life; be aware of his unfailing presence and take great care to make sure he stays in control and then you can be empowered to manifest your duty to the family. Noblesse Oblige!

¹⁹ Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20