Rights and Responsibilities

People today are very concerned about making sure they get the rights they are due. That stems partly from how we got started:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Those words set the United States apart in 1776. People are born with rights. They are not privileges granted by government; they are granted by the Almighty, and a good government is the one that recognizes and protects those rights.

But there's a problem with the way many Americans — including many American Christians — think of their rights. It is an error to think that God only granted us rights. He also gave us duties:

"As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor" (1Pet 2:16-17 HCSB).

"Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor" (Rom 13:7).

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matt 7:12).

Is that enough to make the point? God expects us to fear him, love our neighbor as ourselves, and respect our government leaders among other things. Even though we have rights, we are expected to behave as if other people have a claim on us.

Our society generally recognizes this. We have freedom of speech but a duty to tell the truth, and there are penalties for libel and slander. We have a freedom to assemble but most see a duty to do it in a way that is not a nuisance — and most see closing down highways during rush hour as a violation of that duty.

But when things don't go our way, we tend to focus on our rights to the exclusion of all else. We want our rights to be honored and, all too often, don't care about the affect on anyone else. Americans don't like this, but "my rights" are not the most important thing in the world. My duty to my neighbor may occasionally requires that I set aside some of my rights and privileges. My duty to the duly elected government may require that I do things I don't want to do.

This is something we have to keep in mind all of the time. We need to be mindful of our duties in traffic ("do to others what you would have them do to you"), during the several times a year we pay various taxes, and when we have unwanted trash in our hands and no convenient garbage can. We also need to keep this in mind when we're at the grocery stores and restaurants — the other customers and the staff matter to God. And occasionally the government has to remind us of this. Sometimes the government has to ask us, even tell us, to do things for the greater good.

That's not to say the government never goes too far, but if we are considering pressing for our rights, there are some questions that we should ask ourselves:

• How will my actions affect my neighbor?
• Is the government just flexing its muscles, or is it asking me to do something for the sake of my neighbor?
• If everyone acted like this, what would the result be?

Don't be too quick to demand your rights. We are occasionally obliged to set aside our rights for the sake of our neighbors. If Paul was willing to give up meat (!) for the sake of another's conscience (1Cor 8:13), what might God ask you to tolerate?

To make sure I'm clear, I'm not saying everyone should be a doormat for the state. I'm saying "my rights" cannot be our first priority. Love of neighbor and obedience to God's word must take that place.