My Rights
By Stacy McDonald
Exactly what are my rights? Webster's 1828 dictionary describes that a "right" is a "Just claim; immunity; privilege." I believe that we probably get ourselves into more trouble focusing on "our rights," or at least the rights that we perceive ourselves to have. What exactly do I have a "claim" to without the Lord Jesus Christ? Hell? Without the One who saved me from my wretched condition, Hell is the only "privilege" I can claim, the only place I've earned and the only thing I deserve. So with this in mind, who am I to complain about "my rights?" Understand that I am speaking of personal rights. The rights that we need to lay at the foot of the cross. I'm not speaking of our "rights as Americans," or our legal rights in a courtroom. I'm talking about the "rights" that we decide we have in our own minds because of the deep love that we have for ourselves.
We have no greater picture of Someone with every "right" in the world and in Heaven to do whatever He chose, but yet chose to lay those rights aside. He chose to humble Himself, be born of a simple virgin in a lowly setting with no proper bed or lodging. He chose to submit to sinful, earthly parents, obeying and honoring them in all things. He chose to stay silent when scorned, love when hated and forgive when mocked. He chose to lay aside the right to call down fire from Heaven and a whole legion of angels to wipe out the angry mob of murderers that he was literally dying to save. He deserved reverent worship and yet he willingly accepted a shameful death on a cross..for me. He did all this for me. Who am I to hold my head high and inform you of my rights?
This may seem like a dramatic way to get my point across, but it is so true. There are women (and men) today that will tell you that you have the "right" to a career. They'll say that those kids are dragging you down, "why don't you put them in daycare?" "You're wasting that expensive education, why don 't you do something for yourSELF for a change?" "Go find yourSELF!" "Your husband is just being selfish wanting you home all the time!" "What about YOUR rights?" I hope that after contemplating what we've discussed here today, that you would quite simply and firmly be able to answer, "I have no rights that I can claim on my own, besides a right to hell. But because of my dear Savior's great love for me, He has saved me from certain doom. He laid aside His rights so that I would not perish, and now He has allowed me to serve Him, my husband and my family in the capacity in which He sees fit..and for this, I am forever grateful and gladly lay down my rights.
This week's Challenge:
Make a list of some things that family members or your husband may do that make you angry or irritate you. It may be the way your husband leaves his clothes on the floor when he comes home from work, or maybe the closet he's been promising to clean for months is causing you to be bitter! It may be the way your mother-in-law seems to ignore your requests that she call before she drops by. Maybe nobody in the family ever says "thank you" for little things you try to do to please them. Make your list and then pray that God would reveal to you what exactly makes you angry about these things. Could it be that family members are infringing upon your rights? Could it be that those rights need to be laid at the cross? Could it be that you need to remember in whose service you truly are? Give that closet over to the Lord! Lay the "right to a clean closet" at the feet of Jesus. Relinquish ownership immediately! Maybe your husband will be more likely to clean up the closet once he knows it now belongs to The King of Kings! Either way, we need to remember what our "real" rights are and not allow ourselves to be deceived into believing we're owed more than we truly deserve. Keeping this in mind will harvest a wonderfully thankful spirit! Have a wonderful week!
