Privilege vs. Right

One of the things I am most grateful for is the opportunity to live in a free country. We are truly blessed and I am thankful for each of the liberties we have and appreciative of every person who has fought to defend them for me as well as future generations. But I have a concern. I am concerned that more and more people regard the privileges we have as rights they are entitled to which takes us from sincere gratitude to selfish demands.

As we've been talking about paying off the debt tab for the past few weeks in service, I think this idea has filtered into our thinking about material things & wants. We've stopped looking at things like cell phones, cable TV, internet, eating out, boat/cabin/cars as privileges and instead begun to look at them as a right. A right we are willing to demand even when we cannot afford it. We are willing to put them on credit when we can't afford them and ultimately we leverage ourselves years into the future. We justify debt because we look around and see everyone else doing it, so if they are doing it then it must be our right to have those things as well.

We serve a gracious and giving God. We are tremendously blessed to live in the USA with it's many practical freedoms, including the freedom to worship God. But God doesn't guarantee in scripture that you have a the right to a large house, overflowing bank accounts, or anything else. Is it OK to have those things? Yes! But they aren't rights, they are privileges God blesses us with. Our rights died on the cross when we gave our lives to Christ. Does God want to bless us? Yes! But we can't develop an attitude where we believe it's our rights or that someone or God owes us.

When we recognize that God is the giver of each blessing and that it's His privileged blessing that pours out in our lives, we will become content in his plan and thankful for everything both big & small.