When
in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and the Nature’s God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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;
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
These
are the first two, albeit long, sentences of the Declaration of
Independence, passed unanimously by the 13 United States of America
on July 4th,
1776. Since that time, we have had good people lay down their lives
to secure these rights and freedoms that we truly enjoy. On this
Memorial Day, 2013, we should remember those sacrifices that have
been made on our behalf. These brave men and women have followed the
ultimate example set forth by our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Since
that time, we, as a nation, have been pursuing the last, Happiness.
We’ve tended to forget that we were not promised by the Founding
Fathers of this once great nation to actually achieve happiness here.
We have the right to pursue it. Perhaps some will obtain it, perhaps
some will not. We fight with one another in social media, the public
arena and in the courts what it means to have our rights. We forget
that our rights are conditional, that we are free to pursue them
until they trample another’s rights. For example, I am free to play
my music as loud as I want until I rob my neighbors the right to
peace and quiet. My neighbor has a right to landscape his yard anyway
he wants until he starts violating my right to my property because
he’s planting beyond his yard.
Then
of course we have those who want to pursue choices and we re-label
them to make them seem like the same right. If you disagree with
those beliefs and refuse to see them as nothing more than bad
choices, you are labeled a hate monger, or bigot. Same gender
marriage is one such example. I do not support it, and I will never
vote yes. Now am I being judgmental about this? Not at all. I know
that Paul tells the Church in 1 Cor. 5 that we aren’t to judge
those who don’t know better. It’s only with those claiming to
follow Jesus and are embracing their sins that I have a problem with.
Yet
in our ever loving battle for our personal rights, there is a tough
question that we must ask regularly. When should I waive my rights
and when should I stand up and fight for my rights? What makes this a
hard question is that we are Americans. We have always fought to have
our rights, and even fought so others could have their freedoms and
rights. So this idea of potentially waiving our rights is completely
foreign to us.
But
we are Christians first and foremost so let us consider Paul. We are
in Acts 16.19. To catch us up, they’ve come to Philippi and are
currently staying with one their first converts in the city, a lady
by the name of Lydia. And now it gets interesting in this city. Paul
and Silas were daily going to the people to proclaim Jesus and His
saving grace, but they had a girl following them being their herald.
Yet she wasn’t just any girl. She was a possessed fortune telling
girl. Her owners made a living from her. Which is better? To have
people of good repute, people whose lives have been changed by the
Gospel, telling others of who you are, or someone like her, whose
life wasn’t changed by the good news? Her witness was vexing to
Paul, a thorn in the side. She would be a thorn to anyone today
preaching. So Paul took care of her cast the demon away. Of course,
no good deed goes unpunished, as the axiom goes. That’s where we
pick up our text in verse 22. Let’s read the text.
Paul
and Silas are citizens of Rome. As I’ve stated before, citizenship
has its privileges. He could have a fair trial and then just sentence
that was not public or humiliating. Being stripped and then caned was
both. But they waived this right at this time. There is another time,
Acts 22, where Paul was about to be flogged at that time. He stood up
for his rights then. What was the difference? Why did he allow
himself to be caned in Philippi, but didn’t allow himself to be
flogged, or whipped, in Jerusalem?
It
is the ends here. The caning was a means to preaching to more people,
those who were sitting in the Philippi prison. The flogging would
not. Instead the Centurion was using the whip to derive the “truth”
from Paul. Paul would have gladly given the truth without the pain.
There wasn’t a prison cell waiting for Paul in Jerusalem. He knew
that town well, and he knew what to expect. But in Philippi, he
allowed it. God blessed him for it.
Of
course I might be asked if Paul truly had the chance to waive his
right to trial. The passage suggests that this happened quite
quickly. It is a valid point. And then I think to the passage Paul
wrote to the Romans in 8.28: God will work all things to the good of
those who love Him and are called to His purpose. Paul, then at least
is showing faith in not struggling to retain his rights as a Roman
Citizen. He was always looking to share the Good News. Philippi
seemed to offer the opportunities to do just that whereas Jerusalem
did not.
So
what does this mean for us this morning? Waiving our rights and
taking a stand for our faith is of the hardest challenges that we
face on a regular basis. Too often it is too easy not to take a
stand, to enjoy the camaraderie of our non-Christian family and
friends. Paul instead sets the bar high for us so that we can rise to
the challenge, especially when the world around us seems to be ever
lowering the bar of what is acceptable.
So
how do we know when to stand and when to waive? First I want to
remind you that each of us should be about the mission before us.
Noah was the example Peter refers to as having bore witness for God
for 120 years. Are we bearing witness where we are in our own lives?
We live among some pretty hurting people. Divorces and bad
relationships are all around us. Kids are rebelling, being even more
wild than their parents were as youth. Twisters are devastating
places not too far from home. People lose their homes all the time,
but not always to disasters. Perhaps their losses come from financial
turmoil which can be as ever devastating. This doesn’t even include
the myriad of other sources of woe and pain. Bottom line is that they
need hope that can only come from Christ Jesus. But how can they
believe unless they hear? How can they hear unless someone tells
them? How will someone tell them unless someone goes? You are that
person. Or in other words, you must ask yourself: Do you have a
concern for the loss?
Having
a concern is more than just a passing thought about the loss. It is
like when I’ve been cooking, frying up sausages in the kitchen.
Then as I move to another task I see my daughter start reaching for
the pan of hot oil, I am well motivated to forcibly grab her away
from the danger. But then she is my daughter. So start small. Start
with your dearest friends and family. Are they walking with the Lord?
If not, have you earnestly told them why they need to?
Perhaps
this question could have preceded the first question. This question
to ask that helps us know when to waive is: Do you have the faith
required? Paul gave a pretty powerful promise that all things will
work to the good of those who love God. It isn’t easy, I know. I’ve
been dealing with taking a stand for the faith. I’ve had some
unexpected support, but then I’ve also been hit hard from where
I’ve least expected. But I know that my family will be the better
for it.
Besides,
walking in faith is not like you are by yourself. We have the Holy
Spirit to guide us if we but listen. You also have me, as I have you,
as we have one another to encourage each other in the faith. We are a
family. A book I am reading right now had an anecdote that I thought
sums up the American Church today. In it, as the character was idling
at a red light as he recalled the old stone church that had once
stood on the now vacant lot for sale. At one time, there was a group
of people doing life right, living together in the faith. We are a
family. That’s one of the reasons I look forward to Sundays, to see
each of you.
Now
the final question that can be answered with ease after these
previous two: Is this choice I am making going to advance or hinder
the spreading of the Good News, the spreading of God’s love and
grace? There are times that you, as an American, will want to say,
“Stop!” Here is the hard part about it: There are no fast rules
about when it’s a time to say, “Hey wait!” Sometimes we will
not be able to clearly see the road and know that the Gospel will be
advanced by taking a particular avenue. But faith comes in at that
point.
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