In a recent devotional I read that in our culture we empahasize rights to the point that we have come to insist on them. We insist that our rights are inalienable and God given. And in our rights based society, we seem to have adopted a sense of entitlement. Rights are important in a democracy, but in the Kingdom of God, rights are almost irrelevant.
Those rights based thougths often translate into a right to go to heaven or to be forgiven with no obligation on our own part. It is as though we deserve God's grace, no matter what we believe or what we have done. In other words, we become self-centered instead of God-centered.
We like our freedoms. They are good and God has blessed us with them. But God does not guarantee them as our rights. Our freedoms are gifts from God. And the greatest freedom is our freedom of choice. We can choose to believe in God and live as though we do. We can choose to make God the most important thing in our lives. And we can choose to focus first on ourselves and what we want. But as we choose, we need to remember that our choices will make a difference.
In my experience if we choose to love God and do what he would have us do, then our lives are filled with joy and peace even in the midst of very difficult circumstances. And that is a choice that can make a significant difference in the quality of our lives.
Blessings for the journey!
Marty
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