Your Rights // abdicating yours

A few days ago as I worked through a commentary on 1st Corinthians, the author made a comment that struck me as quite profound about a Christian never demanding his or her rights because that was antithetical to Christs teachings. To say that I was merely intrigued by this thought would be an understatement. That idea flies in the face of everything Western and everything that society teaches us from a very early age. Yes, we’re taught to share, but only as it relates to a toy between the ages of two and nine or ten-ish. From there on its, find your independence and your freedom and your glory.

This morning, continuing my way through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and the companion commentary that I’m working through, the author once again states this maxim in a slighty different way and then proceeds to expound on it further. Your thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated as I try and process this idea. Here’s the quote:

Society bombards us with a myriad of signals urging us to demand rather than to relinquish our rights. Yet, ‘insisting on one’s rights, even insisting on one’s rights as a Christian, is a sign that something else other than the true God is being worshiped.’

How does this affect the way that we interact with people, (my right of way, my right to speak freely about what I believe, my right to …)? How does it affect the way that we dabble in the political arena? How does it affect the way we interact with our spouses, close friendships, etc?

I’ll be the first to say I demand my ‘rights’ far more often than I should, like a good 99.9% of the time.