Giving up our rights is not a easy thing to do for most of us, and it goes completely against our nature. However. there are times in life when giving up our rights is the best thing to do.
In our American culture, we value speaking up. We are passionate about speaking out against injustices. We also value our opportunities and would like to see the fruit of hard work and labor. I praise God for these great privileges! I hope we all can use these rights to honor God and bring about righteous change in our society. However, For God’s people, there is also another law that operates in our lives. That is the law of the Spirit of Life. It is being citizens of Kingdom of God. The rules of engagement in God’s kingdom sometimes are very different than the world.
One of the things that is highly valued by God is giving up our rights to ourselves and to the things we deserve we should have. That’s a difficult thing to do because our nature is conditioned to seek what is fair and what rightfully belongs to us. Additionally, we are taught that we should be a good solider and fight various spiritual battles, so at times we are confused as to when to fight a battle and when to let go and give up our rights.
While it’s not always clear what we should do, the scripture gives us some examples of those who gave up their rights for a purpose!This can shed light in our situation and help clarify when to let go of something even though we are justified in holding on to it.
1. Giving up our rights for the sake of impacting others’ lives.
In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 9:14-18 (NIV)
God had commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive an income from preaching. Paul had the right to be compensated financially for his ministry, but he did not use this right. He was willing to give up his right for the sake of the gospel. He worked with his own hands by being a tentmaker and also did the work of ministry. He did this to show the sincerity of his heart and his desire to see the people saved by the gospel. By providing for himself, he also wished not to be a burden to the church members. Many were rightfully compensated for their ministry, but in this case, Paul chose to forego that right!
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
