GIF Rights or Responsibilities

“Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
(1 Corinthians 10:23-24 NIV)

Rights or Responsibilities
by Larry Burkett

I believe that we are so conscious of our rights today that our “rights” will ultimately cost us our freedom.

To be responsible means to be accountable for our actions. Christ said His followers must be willing to surrender their rights and become His stand-ins.

We can be truly thankful that God’s contract with us is binding and firm. Otherwise, He might really give us what we deserve.

We read in Matthew 20 about various workers who were hired during the day at an agreed sum. At the end of the day, those who had worked all day got paid the same wage as those who had worked only one hour, and they were grumbling at the landowner because they thought it wasn’t fair. The issue wasn’t whether the wage was sufficient—it was that someone else got a better deal, and that wasn’t “right.”

It is inconceivable to think that our Lord would have made an agreement with someone and then changed His mind and tried to negotiate a better deal.

We must decide to fulfill our responsibilities—regardless of “rights.”

Say with the psalmist, “The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep Thy words” (Psalm 119:57).

Daily Scripture Reading:
Judges 2-5