THE LITTLE FOXES

Who said you had any rights anyway? You were suppose to have left them at the foot of the cross. Jesus said,

“If any man come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life will lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:23 & 24)

Remember, “You are not your own, you are bought with a price.” Hopefully, someday, somehow you will mature to the place where you can distinguish between “rights” and “responsibility.” What do I mean when I say “distinguish between rights and responsibility?

Even though we stated earlier that you should have surrendered your rights at the foot of the cross, be sure to note that you do, indeed, have rights. In his discourse on ‘agape,’ or, divine love, in I Corinthians 13, Paul shares many characteristics of love. One of these traits, as stated in the Amplified Version, is that, Agape, the real, God kind of love, does not demand it own rights. It is stated like this:

“...Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights, or its own way, for it is not self seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of evil done to it (it pays no attention to a suffered wrong)”. (v.5)

Here is a man who loves God, who knows God, and wrote more of the New Testament than any other writer. He knows the word! He knows what divine love is all about. He could have demanded many things of the Corinthians, because of ‘his rights’ and his apostolic order and office. This man also knew that he had the responsibility to love everybody. He responded to their needs rather than insisting on ‘his rights’ and privileges.

The Corinthians were constantly challenging Paul’s authority and apostleship. Because he truly had this authority, he showed them what he had the ‘right’ to do because of their attitude and behavior.

The Apostle records what is in his heart in order to teach the fact that although you possess the right to certain privileges you still possess the responsibility to love and minister to those who would attempt to take away those rights. My mind is racing right now to that passage where Paul said, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8, NASB). Notice how Paul presents his case. It will work for you also.

“Don’t I have the right to be given food and drink for my work? Don’t I have the right to do what other apostles do, ... Are Barnabus and I the only ones that have to work for a living? What soldier ever has to pay his own expenses in the army? What farmer does not eat the grapes from his own vineyard? What shepherd does not use the milk from his own sheep? ... We have sown spiritual seed among you. If others have the right to expect this from you, don’t we have an even greater right? But we haven’t made use of this right. Instead, we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ....I haven’t made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself. I would rather die first! Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words.” (I Corinthians 9:4 -15, TEV (read on through verse 19, POWERFUL!)