“We Are All Children of God”

And I invite you to hear these words from Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

“Now, before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore, the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came so that we might be reckoned as righteous by faith. But now, now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. As many of you were baptized into Christ, you have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek. There is no longer slave or free. There is no longer male and female. For all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”

Here ends our scripture lesson for this morning. May God add a blessing to the reading and to the hearing of these holy words.

Sermon

As we continue through this Lenten season, I want to affirm this morning an important truth. And it’s right there in the title of the sermon: We are all children of God. Now, that may seem obvious, but apparently, it’s not to some.

A passage we heard from Genesis says, “So God created humankind in God’s own image. In the image of God they were created. Male and female, God created them.” That is not a conditional statement. It does not say that some were created in God’s image. It does not say only the powerful, only the rich, only the well-connected, only the well-known. It says it all. It says everybody.

Now, we all know that we live in a very Lenten wilderness time right now when it comes to division and dismantling and how this is affecting people’s lives and affecting people’s families. My wife pointed out to me something that I was unaware of and it amazed me: there are those in power today who refer to those who disagree with them or who oppose them as NPCs.

Now, you know what an NPC is, if you’re not into online gaming or computer gaming. So I had to look this up. An NPC is a non-playable character. These are background characters in a video game that are not controlled by the player. They follow scripted patterns, repeating the same short phrases. They exist only to serve the experience. Think of that one guy in a video game who only ever says, “Welcome traveler,” no matter how many times you walk up to them.

The Danger of Dehumanization

Here’s the danger. When people in the real world begin referring to others as NPCs (non-playable characters), they’re claiming that those people lack independent thought. They’re saying that they have no real agency. They’re saying that they’re just background. They’re saying that they don’t matter. They’re saying that they are not really human.

This is a symptom of an old and very awful lie. The same one whispered by Pharaoh to justify the enslavement of the Israelites. The same one used to justify colonialism and slavery and apartheid and segregation. It’s a lie that wells up from the pit of hell and says some people are less real, less human, less valuable than others.

If they’re not real, if they’re background, if they’re not actually players, not actually people, then what does it matter if we slash this program or that program? Things that people rely on to feed themselves, to keep themselves warm, to pay for their medications. What does it matter? You’re just an NPC.

This is about dehumanization. This is about arrogance. This is about indifference and hatred. In this Lenten season in particular, I feel the need to name this lie and this sin for what it is. It strips people of their humanity and their dignity—the dignity that God has given them. And if you say it often enough, people start to forget their own sacred worth.

The Consequences of Dehumanization

The same mindset that calls somebody an NPC is the mindset that allows governments to ignore the cries of the suffering. It enables corporations to exploit workers. It justifies racism and classism and indifference to the plight of the least of these among us.

But you remember what Jesus said? “Truly, I tell you, whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you do it to Me.”

So when we reduce people to non-playable characters, we’re reducing Christ Himself. When we dismiss their experiences as programmed or predetermined, we dismiss the reality of God’s work in their lives.

This passage from Galatians says there is no longer Jew nor Gentile. There is no longer slave nor free. There is no longer male or female. Why? Because you’re all one in Christ Jesus. And if we’re all one in Christ Jesus, then nobody is an NPC. Nobody is disposable. Nobody is unimportant.

A Call to Action

This trend of dehumanization is the same sin that fueled the religious elite to look down upon Jesus when He sat with tax collectors and the outcasts. It’s the same sin that led people to mock prophets and ignore the cries of the widows and the orphans.

If there are demons to be cast out this Lenten season, this has got to be one of them. It needs to be cast out so that we can return to the truth that every human being is a gift. Every human being is wonderfully made. Every human being is beloved in the sight of God.

So what do we do? What do we need to do?

Reject Dehumanizing Rhetoric: We need to reject this rhetoric whenever we see it, whether it’s online or in our daily lives. We need to call out the sin of dehumanization wherever it rears its head.

See Christ in Others: We need to actively see Christ in others and listen, truly listen, especially to those who are being cast aside right now. We need to advocate for the marginalized. We need to fight for justice by proclaiming the inherent worth of every human being.

Self-Reflection: Ask ourselves if we sometimes dismiss people. Are we immune to judgmentalism? Have you ever caught yourself about to dismiss somebody as a non-playable character?

Pray: We need to pray for the scales to fall from the eyes of those who perpetuate this lie. We need to pray for our own hearts to remain soft, for our love to be unwavering, and for our courage to never fail in these times.

Let me say it again. We are all created in God’s image. We are all deeply loved, and no one, no one is an NPC.

So let’s go forth into this day with that truth. Let’s go forth today to boldly proclaim the dignity of all people. Let’s go forth today standing against every force that seeks to diminish the sacred worth of our fellow human beings.

Closing Prayer

O holy God, You created each of us and all of us in Your image. And Your image is multicolored. Your image comes in many sizes, speaks many languages, and brings many different gifts. We are all made in your image and we are all valued. We all matter.

Bless our church to be a place that celebrates your diversity and stands firm against the dehumanization of one another.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.