Because sometimes I can't keep my mouth shut...

Boy, circumstances sure can be difficult at times. Not necessarily in my own life, because it is a blessed life that I lead. I don't always understand why God does not choose to judge me here and now to give justice for undeserved luxuries within which I dwell. Christ died to make a way for me to overcome Hell, and I grasp that (as much as one can with such human comprehension). I sometimes wish my own conscience and my own standards for living (which I don't live up to on a daily basis) would be satisfied. God doesn't call us to our wills, though. Many times the standards we set can get in the way of God's own holy standards that he set so many years ago.

Bear with me as I recover from that last tangent. My brother and I had a conversation a couple of days ago, and the issue of our "rights" came up. What is a right? I know I say it quite a bit. It's used in politics very often. I recall the Declaration of Independence: "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." (http://www.ushistory.org/) And yes, it does say "unalienable," not "inalienable," I checked. It's a powerful statement. One that perhaps many would take offense to in our modern America. Nonetheless, I go back to my original question: What is a right? Well, according to our good friends Merriam and Webster, one definition of a right that I find most interesting is this: "something that one may properly claim as due" (http://www.m-w.com/). A right can be defined as something that somebody or everybody OWES us. We DESERVE these rights. Right? Okay, well, back to the Declaration--unalienable: "incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred." (http://www.m-w.com/) Now that is just fascinating.

Now, it's true that perhaps Jefferson did not mean EXACTLY what those definitions spell out. However, it seems to me that (at the very least, one person) some feel that they in fact DO have a claim, a due to their own lives that God owes them (is it not He that gave us these lives in the first place?) that they cannot deny because these claims to our own lives are INCAPABLE of being surrendered. There is no choice in the matter. Do you think I'm looking too much into this? Because I'm not sure that I buy that argument, if indeed that is what you are arguing. This idea of being born with "rights."

Do I believe God bestowed upon me the desire for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Yes, I do. I agree with Jefferson; I agree with Jefferson to the extent that these rights are only satisfied in Christ. God created us with a chance for new life in Him. God granted us liberty, we screwed it up, and then He gave it to us again with Christ (the law of liberty). Happiness can be pursued the world over and can only be found, CAN ONLY BE FOUND in God. Anything else you find that has a fleeting happiness is merely a distorted reflection of its Creator.

So, my very good friend(s), what does it come to in the end? I question your self-interest. I ask, what do I truly owe you? Do you have the right to make your own decisions? Sure, go ahead. Do you have the right to make these decisions regardless of the consequences? Well, I may try to persuade you, but it is your decision to make. Do you have the right to make decisions that do come with consequences, some you may even abhor, and then claim another right to abdicate them in the same breath? NO. No, my friend, you do not. Make your decisions, but then be prepared to accept the consequences. Otherwise, don't make such bad decisions. This is how we learn. THIS IS HOW WE LEARN. I feel like a Baptist preacher--I've got to say things like five times before you get the full effect. CAN I GET AN AMEN?!?!?!

No, I don't want an amen. I just want consideration. Please consider the effects your decisions have. Please consider that although you may have "unalienable Rights," other people have them as well. Your rights don't nullify someone else's. If we even have rights to begin with....

Christ said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." To the rich man (who thought he had kept the whole law), Christ said, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (NASB) Christ tells us to lay down our rights, to lay down everything and to come, follow Him. To throw down our own selfish ambitions, our own desires, our own natural and seemingly quintessential needs, and instead pick up a rugged cross and follow Him all the way to Calvary and on to Heaven. If you claim Christ, you have to let Him claim you. It's so hard to do this. It's so hard to stick to the path Christ paved. Make sure the things that make it so hard, like your pride, aren't still being carried. Let it go, and let the love of God supply the needs and desires you thought impossible to fulfill.