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The Wrong R Word
September 13, 2006

Greetings in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

Americans have a preoccupation with the wrong “R” word: rights. As in, “I want my rights!” The “I” in rights should be capitalized for that is the focus when one demands their rights. Me, Myself and I. This is not what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about. And unfortunately, this thinking has invaded the church including our dear Fellowship. Even now, there is a case in the American courts of the church who sued a school district which did not allow the church to put an invitational flyer in the kids’ backpacks to take home to their parents. The invitation was to some worthwhile, and no doubt evangelisticly designed, social event at this church. The church demanded its rights to put flyers in kids’ backpacks along with the rest of the social organizations in the area. How did the lower court or the school district rule? They outlawed ALL flyers from every social organization including Brownies, Boy Scouts, sports leagues, everyone. Imagine the great witness this church now enjoys with the parents involved in all those other organizations! And please don’t think that this case was the genesis for this article. Rather, it is only a current events example of another disease that has infected the church and caused the salt to lose its savor. Have flyers replaced fasting? Have promotionals replaced prayer? Have clever marquees replaced man-to-man witnessing?

The correct “R” word is Responsibility! It would be awfully scriptural if pastors everywhere began to emphasize responsibility over rights from the pulpit. Consider just a few Scriptures: The Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12, the commands to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5, the story of the Widow with Two Mites in Mark 12 and Luke 21, the scriptures on tithing, the story of the Widow of Zarephath of whom Elijah asked her to use her last handful of meal to make him a “little cake first,” the stories of Ruth and Esther (who both were in potentially harmful situations but obeyed godly council and reaped great rewards. They did not demand their rights as a Jewish widow and queen but humbly obeyed as responsible citizens of that heavenly Kingdom. In all of these cases, the passage is either about a disadvantaged person giving their all to God or a person being commanded to obey when obedience would either cost them everything or it would be a true measure of faith because there was no promise of anything in return (for example, the commands to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5).

And most importantly, consider the very life of Jesus including His death on the cross. Did He demand His rights when He came to Earth as its very Creator (see John 1)? No! He came as the most defenseless of all living things: a human baby. Joseph and Mary could have aborted Him had His birth been scheduled for the 20th century! And did He invoke His rights as King of Kings and Lord of Lords when the Roman soldiers were beating and dragging Him to the cross? No! He took our place and paid our penalty of death for the sins we committed by submitting Himself to the torture, bleeding and death of the cross. By His own death, He validated the statement He made to the disciples after they were arguing over who would be the greatest when He said, “But I am among you as one that serveth.” Luke 22:27

Pastors: have you taught your parents to teach their children this concept? Sometimes being an American and being a Christian are two very different things. Which thing is your congregation learning? And what “truths” are we passing on to our children? The Bill of Rights or Biblical Responsibility?

For The Gospel’s Sake,

Brother Mike

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