by Daniel Brown
The Conclusion
These are some principles that I believe should be, at the very least, considered before we stand-in, sit-in, walk-out, or take part in any protest.
The more I hear of Christians “standing-up” for their “rights”, the more I am convinced that we have completely lost sight of what it means to be a Christ-follower. Paul admonished the Ephesian believers, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (Ephesians 5:1,2). The phrase “followers of God” literally means, “mimickers”. We are to mimic or imitate, not just the actions, but the entire lifestyle of Jesus Christ. We are to be Christ-like.
Often, in the name of Christianity, we strive for public admiration, yet Jesus Christ “made himself of no reputation.” We demand to be seen and recognized, but our King “took upon him the form of a servant”. We challenge and even defy the God-given authorities in our lives, demanding our “rights”, yet the Sovereign Lord “became obedient”. Imagine this! The one who is “the life”, and the giver of life, willingly became “obedient unto death” Philippians 2:5-8). Does there not seem to be a disconnect between the Christian and his Christ?
In her book Have We No Rights?: A frank discussion on the ‘rights’ of missionaries, Mabel Williamson recalls hearing a Chinese missionary speak from his heart. “You know…” he said, “there’s a great deal of difference between eating bitterness [Chinese idiom for ‘suffering hardship] and eating loss [Chinese idiom for ‘suffering the infringement of one’s rights’].” He spoke of the adventurous experience of what some call “suffering” in missionary work. The relinquishing of daily comforts, to live a rugged lifestyle, all for the noble cause of rescuing some perishing folk; what Christian couldn’t find some enjoyment in that? He continued, “Eating bitterness’ is easy enough…that’s a thrill…another thing, however—another thing that I had never thought about came up to make trouble. I had to ‘eat loss’! I found that I couldn’t stand up for my rights— that I couldn’t even have any rights. I found that I had to give them up, every one, and that was the hardest thing of all.” Mabel Williamson expounded on this wise missionary’s words, “The missionary has to give up having his own way. He has to give up having any rights. He has, in the words of Jesus, to ‘deny himself’. He just has to give up himself.”
Why is it, that a foreign missionary must “give up himself”, but a child of God who is supposedly living the same Christian life at home must not? An attachment to this world, and in particular to the freedom of this country, has quite duped the western believer into thinking that he must fight for his “rights” at all costs. It would behoove us to remember, that our Christian brothers and sisters in other, less fortunate nations know nothing of the civil liberties we hold so dearly; yet, somehow, they remain faithful to preach Christ in their corners of the world. I think they would be confounded to discover how much time, energy, finances, and how many moral “exceptions” believers are making to protect those liberties.
Oh Christians! By all means, vote when it is time to vote! When the opportunity avails itself, speak out in favor of biblical moral principles. Make use of every means possible to advance any righteous cause, when it is, in fact, biblically right. Pray, as we are commanded to: For kings, and for all that are in authority. However, never forget to which King and country you belong. May our earthly public service be always secondary, in means, method and message, to our heavenly.
This has been the final part of a PDF entitled iProtest by Daniel Brown. For the entire PDF, please click here.