Monday, February 19, 2007
Bill of Rights
I was talking with a friend recently and the subject was along these lines. If you don't follow sports much, bear with me and I will make some sort of attempt at a relevant point eventually. John Amaechi, a former NBA player, announces in his autobiography that he is gay. In a related matter, Tim Hardaway, in an inteview that turned into an ESPN story , tells everybody that he hates gay people. (Ipromise that a point is on the way). Now the whole world is up in arms because Hardaway should be killed or beaten with clubs or some such thing. But this all takes a turn when people start to defend him. Here's my problem - the rationale used to defend Hardaway is many cases is essentially this -"nobody should be upset with him because he's just exercising his right to free speech". Now you could replace Hardaway with the Dixie Chicks or 100 other people and the argument is the same. I can't stand that argument because it's dumb on many levels. That's not how the 1st amendment works. It's freedom of speech, not freedom from repercussions, but far too many people don't understand that distinction and misuse what is rightfully theirs. This isn't an isolated incident. As a citizen it is your responsibility to be aware of your rights and how far they extend, a responsibility many people take lightly or completely ignore. What I'm wrestling with now is what does all this mean for me as a Christian? I have another citizenship, but what are the rights that accompany a citizen of heaven? To put it more bluntly, what can I count on God for? I don't mean that in a mean-spirited or sacreligious manner. I know I can count on my government to allow me to buy a gun, not go in my house without probable cause, allow me to vote, keep France from invading the country, etc. What are the guarantees of Christianity? Maybe instead of what can I count on God for I should say what can I expect from God? I know my earthly Bill of Rights, but what does my spiritual bill of rights look like? Or does God resist any effort to be defined like that? I wonder what you think.
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3 comments:
A Christian Bill of Rights... well here's what I found out there on the world wide web... http://mission.squarespace.com/-journal/2005/6/22/the-christian-bill-of-rights.html
Now, this has some interesting points regarding our "Christian rights" and raises some good questions. Should we as Christians expect the Right of a perfect utopia experience when we gain our new citizenship through Christ or does scripture say to expect trials and even persecution as part of this journey?
Now, I could really get off on a tangent about the misuse of the 1st amendment and the way we have taken the constitution out of its intended context of Biblical self control but I won't... However, I must point out the similarity in this error and that of some (me included) Christians today. Don't we at times take the promises of scripture out of their overall context in order to make them fit our utopian Christian bill of rights?
As for our rights... are promises the same as rights? If so, taken in context, we have a great number of rights to claim... but if any of you are like me I sometimes have a tendency to abuse these rights and in turn suffer the repercussions.
The more I think about this,the more I think I'm completely off base. (I'm sure you wondering what the odds of that would be). I think the notion of a bill of rights is a democratic idea. The kingdom of God is by it's very nature not a democracy. In a monarchy, I'm afforded whatever rights are allowed at the pleasure of the king. I think that requires much more faith than relying on something like a list of inviolable rights. It's appealing to say that God is duty-bound to do certain things in certain situations, but I think the reality is that he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. To be a citizen of a kingdom is to, by definition, renounce any rights you have. I think that I run into problems when I expect things that I'm not entitled to expect. Kind of like in the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe when the Beaver is telling the kids about Aslan. The kids ask if he is a tame and safe lion. The beaver laughs and tells them "of course he's not tame. He's a lion. But he's good, I tell you. He's the king" That's the essential question that this bill of rights issue hinges on. The bill of rights is a protection offered to citizens to protect them from the government. If I believe that God is good and working on my behalf, then what use is a bill of rights. The notion of a bill of rights is a safety net in case I'm not taken care of.
Just a though
We we become a christian and accept Christ, it does not mean that we will never have trials, or be put through tests. As a matter of fact, most of us will be tried on a daily basis simply because we are children of the king. If we take Job for an example, by all accounts he had it made. He had everything he could want and more. He had a good family and was living a good life. Until one day God allowed him to be tested. God does allow things in our life to be tested and tried in order for us to fully trust Him. Job puts as much faith in God as to say no matter what happens or what else could happen I will trust Him.
So with that said, God's will is definately not ours and he ways are not ours, so He can and will rule over our lives as he sees best fit. As for our bill of rights according to the Christian faith, our rights depend soley on His ways. Our right is that no matter what God will go before us and fight the battles that need to fought.
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