My Thoughts for Sunday, January 10 2016
“Our Unalienable Rights”
If you were born and brought up in this country of ours, the USA, then you
should be familiar with the statement made by our founding fathers at the drafting
of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. They stated that we, as citizens of this
newly formed country, had bestowed on us, by God, three “unalienable rights”; life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Not only did they profess that we were
endowed with these rights, but that all men were so endowed by their Creator. My
contention is that they were somewhat too late in making this statement. These
rights were no longer ours and will never again be ours in this fallen, sin-filled
world. If these had been rights, unequivocally bestowed on us by God, and given
without stipulation or requirements on our part, then they would probably still be
in effect.
Yes, God did give mankind these three conditions, not as rights, as gifts.
These gifts would be ours with one specific understanding. We would worship Him
as our creator by keeping His one stipulation: we would not eat of the one tree in
the center of the garden He had prepared for mankind, the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. One simple command! One instruction with everything to gain
and nothing to lose by following His one command! We had life with no reason for,
or indication of, an end of that life. By keeping it! We had liberty as God’s perfect
creation, we were under no one’s rule! We had all knowledge and free will to do
everything we wished, to enjoy the third gift. We had been given the ability to
continue to pursue the happiness God had created us with and for!
If these so-called unalienable rights were truly bestowed on us by our
Creator, why did our early ancestors have to go to war, take lives, keep slaves, and
virtually destroy the lives and happiness of so many people to escape the social,
political and religious tyranny from their countries of origin? This appears to be
counterproductive to what our founding fathers were trying to establish in this new
land! Looking back throughout history we see the same occurrences of war, taking
of lives, slavery and destruction, in the name of the God endowed pursuit of
happiness.
Today we can’t avoid seeing our lack of the God directed sanctity of life as we
listen to the ongoing debates and reports of lives being indiscriminately taken in
the name of “choice” Millions of lives are taken on a regular basis because mothers
now have the choice of allowing or not allowing the child they have in their womb,
by the Creator of all life, to live and enjoy that life. We can’t escape hearing of the
drunk drivers and the drug abusers causing early termination of lives, theirs or
those of another person. We see gang wars taking lives because individuals feel
they have the right to their own “turf” where no one else is allowed. Wars are being
fought all over the world in the name of so-called freedom. Look at the pursuit of
happiness. What does that mean? Some feel that they can do as they please,
regardless of someone else’s pain or discomfort, in their individual pursuit of this
happiness. Often people feel that if they just had a larger home, perhaps a newer
more expensive car, more money or a better job they would have happiness. Some
actually realize the fulfillment of their wants and desires only to find out their
desires have changed. They now need still bigger and better and more; never
acquiring that illusive “happiness.” It appears these seekers are looking to the
wrong places in order to obtain this happiness as did the people of Colossae. Paul,
the apostle of Jesus gave them some sound advice that we need to take to heart
today in our search for happiness. He wrote; “… seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that
are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2)
Paul wrote these words to the Colossians and similar words to all the
churches of the early Christians because they too felt like we still do today. We have
been given these rights. We can set up our lives and control all things on our own.
We are an enlightened society and can fully control our destinies. News flash! Look
around you; do you see life getting better for everyone? Especially our unborn
aborted children? Those addicted to drugs, slowly destroying their minds and the
lives of their loved ones? All these things do more than just affect our individual
lives; they affect everyone around us. So why does Paul have a need tell us these
things if we were truly given these unalienable rights by God? We need to go back
to the beginning and see what happened to mankind and our “God endowed”
rights.
Whenever we need to see the reason for the state of mankind today we are
drawn back to the very first book in God’s Word, the Bible. This book of Genesis,
especially chapter 3, is a “must read” for all persons looking for answers to “what
happened? Why are we in this predicament?” I wish to stress again as I did in the
beginning; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were not rights from God but
rather gifts with one string attached, as it were. God gave Adam and Eve, our first
ancestors, perfect life in a perfect world with no sin; therefore, no death or sadness.
Sin was unheard of before this. Then enters Lucifer (Satan) as the Genesis account
states in Genesis, chapter 3. Beginning in the first verse we see the craftiness and
deceit of this evil one. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild
animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, you
must not eat from any tree in the garden’? The woman said to the serpent, ‘We
may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit
from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you
will die.’ ‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God
knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.’” This was Satan’s first attempt at deceit. He is still
telling many in the world today through some quasi-religious cults the same
thing… “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”
God is offering these same “unalienable rights” or gifts to His people today,
with one requirement again, that same command He gave to Adam and Eve, to
worship Him and only Him by following His plan. Through His Word He has given
that promise over and over again to His people, that we would have, not just life,
but everlasting life; not just liberty from tyrants, but freedom from all the sins that
ensnare us; and happiness through His peace that passes all understanding if we
just believe in the Christ that gave His life for all who would follow Him in truth.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7). To the Colossians, Paul
told believers to… “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the
right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on things that
are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2). John was inspired to write in his Gospel… “For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”, (John 3:16) and again… “Yet a time
is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
(John 4:23) Jesus stated that… “I came that they may have life and have it
abundantly.” (John 10:10))
As John the Baptist so aptly said, “Clear the way for the Lord, repent of your
sins.” Christ is coming again to give to His followers and true believers, once for all
time, those gifts we mistake for rights today…Life, Liberty, and Happiness, not just
the pursuit of happiness. We shall have forever and for eternity a happiness that
will never be marred by slavery to anything or anyone or by death, for these things
are of the world. Christ tells us He has overcome the world, “I have told you these
things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But
take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
REJOICE!