‘Rights’ and the Christian

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34

It’s interesting that the first words of the Declaration of Independence are about rights. It begins, “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...”

Today, it is not uncommon to hear someone demand their rights. It’s become a battered axiom, and the contemporary American uses it to indulge in all kinds of selfish pursuits.

We’ve trivialized rights to the point that we think we have a right to “have it our way.” God granted privilege has become an entitlement, so “we deserve a break today.” The right to free speech has become the right to be heard. The right of the press to openly criticize government has become pedophilic license.

But the men who gave us our form of government never envisioned such an egocentric society. If the first words of the Declaration are poignant, the last few words offer an insight into a way of thinking almost unknown today. After listing their grievances against Britain and declaring the colonies free of British rule, a treasonable act punishable by death, all 56 signers affixed their names at the bottom under the final words, “And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

......continued tomorrow