Letters from Paul

Each day when I turn on the news, I see it.  There are people who have taken the time to creatively, I might add, make signs and attach them to poles or sticks.  These same people gather in large groups.  They take time away from their work, friends, and families in order to come together, form rallies, and protest.  When it all comes down to it what is happening is that these groups of individuals are standing up for “rights.”   Just to list a few:

The rights of minorities
The rights of animals
The rights of the unborn or the right to choose
The rights of women
The rights of gays
The rights of illegal aliens
The right to an education
The right to healthcare
The right to own guns
The right to own property
AND TO TOP IT OFF – The right to protest for my rights

Now, there is no doubt that I have my opinion concerning those rights listed above and the vast amounts of other rights that are either supported or denied by our government.  It was last week when I saw another “right” that I simply begin to think, wonder, contemplate . . . “What is the problem?”  Perhaps this declaration did not catch your eye last week.  So, here it is.  Brace yourself. “Vacationing a human right, EU chief says.”  

Here is an excerpt:

The European Union has declared travelling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers’ dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips.

Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, proposed a strategy that could cost European taxpayers hundreds of millions of euros a year, The Times of London reports.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/news/Vacationing+human+right+chief+says/2924330/story.html

My thought upon reading this article . . . “You have got to be kidding me.”  In hindsight, I should not be surprised.  As our world continues to move away from “God centered” thinking, rights will continued to be demanded and expected.  It only makes sense because as man’s view of himself is elevated, his deservedness is increased.  It has now become that whatever man desires, is now a right.  This has occurred to the extent that even many sins are now touted as rights.  This is only the beginning if we continue to sustain our current course and here is why.

We have forgotten that we are stewards, not owners. 
Imagine if you allowed a friend to borrow your car and when it was returned, it was damaged.  Perhaps the front fender was crushed, because your friend had a wreck.  Your friend then turns to you to say, “I decided not to have the car fixed.”  How ridiculous.  You own the car.  Your friend does not have the authority or the right to decide his culpability or the condition of the car.  Well, the same is true when it comes to us and this world we live in.  Scripture says this.  

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.  (Colossians 1:15-16)

It is all God’s.  I have no rights concerning wealth, health, prosperity, happiness, or opportunities.  I do not even have a claim or right to life itself.  (I am not suggesting that we do not stand up for the gift of life – we simply do not have a right to it ourselves.) 

Your eyes saw my unformed substance, in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:16)

Consider this.  As long as we believe we are the owners, we believe we have the authority to decide what our rights are.  The result is that we even claim rights that are in direct conflict with the true owner, God.  In the United States we have the right to murder the unborn.  We have the right to escapism through drugs and alcohol.  We have the right of homosexual behavior.  We have the right to feed our appetite for lust, anger, perversion, hatred, coveting, greed, etc. . .  We really believe that our desires, sinful or not, are our rights.

We have become like spoiled children
This is not the first time in history.  God took the Israelites into the Promised Land and richly blessed them. 

So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.  And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness. (Nehemiah 9:24-25)

Even after being given so much, the very next verse 26 begins with this word . . . “Nevertheless.”  They wanted to do what they wanted to do.  We have been given freedom like no other people have experienced through the ages.  We have access to medicine like never before.  We have technology, conveniences, long life expectancy, comfort, and relative security . . . .NEVERTHELESS, we want to do what we want to do.  We want more.  We want our desires to be sanctioned as rights.

We think we are owed something.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees . . . Do you remember these groups from the Gospels?  John the Baptist knew why they showed up when he was calling for people to repent and be baptized. 

You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.  And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. (Matthew 3:7b-9)

The Pharisees and Sadducees really thought they were “in” because of their lineage.  They were the keepers of the temple and the law.  According to them, they were righteous.  Surely, if anyone deserved to be in the kingdom of heaven, it was the Pharisees and Sadducees.  Listen to me; we are not owed something because we are Americans.  We are not owed something because we are a majority or minority.  We are not owed something because we are male or female.  We are not owed something because we are Christians (we are promised eternal life, but that is not our own doing, as if we should boast).  We may study, work, sacrifice, give, help, etc . . . and even with that, we are not owed anything, with one exception – - – death.  That’s one area of deservedness we did for ourselves. 

We have forgotten history
Some may claim, “Well pastor, you seem to enjoy your rights that you have at this time.  You especially enjoy the right to assemble together with your church and worship God anytime you want.  You enjoy your right to own property and your right to speak your mind, to be heard.” My response . . . “Yes, yes, I do.”  I enjoy those freedoms, but they are not rights.  I enjoy that I can meet with my church and I can say what I want to say.  I enjoy pretty good health, a loving wife, healthy kids, a home, church, friends, family, etc.  I could go on and on.  I enjoy those things, but they are not rights.  They are blessings or gifts from God.  They are the result of God’s unmerited grace and mercy.  If we were to look back in history and see how few people have ever enjoyed the things that we take for granted and claim as rights, I would hope . . . I would think it would embarrass us and humble us.

During the New Testament the people of Israel were under foreign rule.  Tax collectors could charge pretty much anything they wanted.  Soldiers could put demands of service upon any passerby.  Women were treated much like property and anyone who was not a Roman, was a second class citizen.  The Jewish leaders were waiting for the Messiah.  This Savior was going to lead them to implement their rights, the rights of the chosen nation of God.  Governments would tumble and finally, they would have their day, and yet; it was nothing like that.  The Messiah did show up, but Jesus did not go around speaking about rights.  He wasn’t bringing in the kingdom on this earth.  God was not even exercising His right.  Because of God’s grace and mercy through sending Jesus Christ, God did not apply his RIGHT to condemn the world.  Jesus was sent, so that the world could be saved through him.  God’s right of condemnation would be carried out on his own Son, a sacrifice, in order to spare us that we might have the privilege of eternal life with God. 

I am a grateful man.  I do not deserve what I have.  I know this is truth and if God takes it away tomorrow, it would be tough . . .  no doubt.  But it wasn’t my right to have it in the first place.  Believe me. That last thought troubles me, but that doesn’t diminish its validity.  I am no superman.  My flesh struggles with my wants.  I have my times of claiming that I worked hard, so I deserve A, B, or C.  But it simply is not true.  What is real and true is that God owns it all.  He has blessed us with so much that we do not deserve.  We have forgotten who we are and who He is.  We have forgotten to simply be thankful.  We are not owed.  We have no rights.  God decides.  God distributes.  God delineates.  He gives and He takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.  THAT IS RIGHT.