Today, everything is about 'rights'. My 'rights', human 'rights', civil 'rights', the 'rights' of ethnic minorities, the 'rights' of children, heck, even the 'rights' of the environment.
Ladies and gentlemen, I say that the concept of 'rights' is fallicious. To have a concept of 'rights' is to be looking through the wrong end of the telscope (or microscope, as the case my be).
Thats right, you heard me right - you have no 'rights'.
Let us put this in perspective with a few examples.
My wife Michelle has no right to a loving husband. Rather, I have a responsibility to be a loving husband.
No one has a right to education. Rather, we have a responsibility to educate the next generation.
No one has a right to live in a country free from war. Rather, we have a responsibilty to defend those who cannot defend themselves.
No one has a right to free speech. Rather, we have a responsibilty to make sure all are heard fairly.
A child has no right to a violence-free home life. Rather, the parents have a responsibility to gently raise, and nuture their child in a loving healthy family environment.
Even at a more base level, no one has a right to have food on their table or clothes on their back, but rather, they have a responsibility to work and to earn a living to support themselves and their family - and we have a responsibility to serve and support those who are unable to earn their own living.
And myself, I have no right to my own life, for it has been bought at a price. Instead, I have a responsibilty to do the will of Him who owns me. My responsibility is to bear His image in this world. This involves showing the love of God through my life, serving as Christ served, even unto death. To abdicate or duck this responsibilty is to dishonour and misrepresent He whose image I bear - to make Him out to be a liar before the people of this world.
And even for one who is not a Christian, their responsibility is no less than is mine, for they too are made in His image. Their continuing failure to represent Him rightly will be their demise.
Being a child of God, a son or daughter in His family, a member of the body of which Christ is the head, is an acknowledgement of our role as image bearers, it is saying, 'Yes, I understand my responsibility, and am willing to take it up'.
People - lets be responsible. Forget about your 'rights', for you have no 'rights'. 'Rights' are fictitious figments for people who cannot see beyond themselves. Responsibilites, on the other hand, are reality for people who do not even consider themselves, but are instead focussed on others, firstly on Him whose image they bear, and in doing so, focussing on serving their brothers and sisters.
I just re-read this tirade, and thought it could be a bit harsh, but after thinking about it some more, I believe it to be true, nonetheless . 'Rights' are reducing our society to a collection of individuals - they are tearing apart our families and our communities.
Let me know what you think.
In other news:
Isn't it ironic how on one hand, the government is considering the mandatory addition of folate and iodine to foods to reduce disorders and birth defects from 50 per annum, to 'a handful', and yet on the other hand, they don't seem to care that over 17,000 people are aborted each year?
