We live in a society that teaches about rights. Rights. Rights. Rights. Everybody has their rights.
- “I just want what’s rightfully mine.”
- “I have rights, you know.”
- “It’s my right.”
A right is something that’s owed you. Whenever we feel that someone owes us something, then we do not feel obligated to offer them any gratitude in return. If you loan a friend $50 and he pays you back on payday, do you express your gratitude for his generosity? No. He owed it to you. And he had a responsibility to repay it, even though most people don’t. That doesn’t negate their responsibility.
Now a responsibility is something that you owe to someone else. So where do your rights stop and your responsibilities begin? Does the government owe you? What about your parents? How about God? We’re so programmed to thinking that others owe us that we think we have rights.
It’s my right to worship as I choose. Is it? Then why have schools taken away a child’s freedom to pray before lunch or even carry their Bible to class? Why has the government taken away the freedom of our military service members to read their Bibles, attend church services, and discuss their beliefs with those of like faith? Other countries don’t have these freedoms, and now we no longer have them either. Because they were not our rights; they were privileges, ones that no longer exist in our country.
You see, it’s a privilege to live in this country; a privilege that I did nothing to earn since I was born an American. It’s a privilege to drive a car and freely move from state to state; to vote, to get an education, and to choose one’s profession. Privileges that we’ve taken for granted for so long that we are slowly losing them one by one.
Parents have a responsibility to care for their children when they’re little and to train them in the ways of the Lord. But once a child is grown, their parents don’t owe them anything.
And what about God, our Creator and Savior? What kind of responsibilities does He have toward us? A lot of people think that God owes them. And when He doesn’t do exactly what they think He should, they feel like He let them down, so they get angry at Him. However, God doesn’t owe us anything. Nothing. Nada. Not one thing. He didn’t even owe us a way of salvation, but he provided it anyway. As far as God’s concerned, we have no rights, and He is under no obligation to us whatsoever.
God has done an awful lot for us, and we do not deserve any of it. Unfortunately, we seldom recognize the things He’s done for us because we’re too busy complaining about what He didn’t do. That’s ingratitude, which, by the way, is gross sin.
So if we have no rights, what do we have? Responsibilities!
- We have the responsibility to recognize God for Who He really is.
- We have the responsibility to praise God for all He does.
- We have the responsibility to obey God’s Word.
- We have the responsibility to tell others about Jesus.
- We have the responsibility to live our lives in a way that pleases God.
- We have the responsibility to grow spiritually.
- We have the responsibility to be thankful in all things.
God has given us a lot of responsibilities. He doesn’t owe us anything. We owe Him everything! And if you don’t recognize that, you need to put aside your “rights” mentality and start honoring your God-given responsibilities. Then you’ll recognize it because God will reveal it to you. And then you will experience the blessings of God like you’ve never known before. But keep in mind, the blessings of God are not rights. They’re privileges that God gives you when you honor Him by fulfilling your responsibilities.