Deion Sims, a senior biology major at the University, spoke at the Gathering Tuesday in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Sims opened his message with a personal story from his life that pinpointed the exact moment he realized his privilege. He saw a boy and a pig rummaging through the trash in a third-world country and realized he was put in a position of opportunity from the time he was born. Sims said this privilege was not something he earned. It was freely given to him by chance.
He highlighted the fact that each Lipscomb student is privileged and each student has a choice on how to use his or her privilege.
“Dr. King used his privilege to put himself in the mess,” Sims said.
He offered an unexpected viewpoint to the audience: our privilege comes with a purpose and if we choose to not acknowledge the blessing we have been given, we may not be able to impact the world to our fullest potential.
“To deny our privilege is to forfeit our purpose,” Sims said.
He then said there were three points students must recognize in relation to their privilege. The first point is to recognize we are privileged. The second is to recognize our privilege is not earned. Lastly, we must realize we have a choice of what to do with our privilege.
Once Sims ended his message, Cyrus Eaton offered his own words of encouragement.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is locked inside each of you and it is waiting to get out,” Eaton said.
Eaton closed with prayer, thanking Jesus that He did not hold onto his privilege, but instead gave it up to draw near to us.
Student Body President Carson Panovec ended chapel with an announcement that class was canceled from 3 p.m. on Tuesday to 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The crowd cheered.
To see this week’s Gathering, visit Lipscomb’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvsexAToUzs.