Thursday; June 29

You can’t make me do that – I have rights!

How many times have we heard that? More importantly, how many times have we said it! When I look at this statement, two things come to mind. First, I am thankful that we can honestly say it in our nation without fear of reprisal. We live in a land that has put in place certain rights that we can depend upon. No, we may not always get it right in every case, but the underlying principle upon which our nation was built was to protect certain basic individual rights. The second thing that stands out to me is how this can be a way for Christians to demonstrate our faith – however, it comes with a cost: humility. How powerful could it be to be able to say, “I have rights, but I will do something for you because I care about you.”. When we voluntarily suspend our rights to demonstrate that the love and service of Christ is alive inside us, we give up our civil rights to promote Christian love.

When Jesus was teaching His earliest disciples about the life He would call them to live, He reminded them that voluntary service would be required. In fact, He left no doubt when He taught, “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” (Matthew 5:41). This addendum to the principle of turning the other cheek reminds us that our rights may need take a backseat to the needs of others. Oh, and by the way, before we get upset about this principle, let’s look on the cross and remember that Jesus had the “right” escape death but chose to go the extra mile so we could experience eternal salvation.

Think About It!

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