All about ‘rights’

There’s a lot of talk about ‘rights’ in the news: Courts of Human Rights, declaration of human rights, etc.

We talk of the ‘right to roam’, and the ‘right to free speech’ without necessarily thinking about what that means. The Bible doesn’t talk about ‘rights’, it talks about ‘righteousness’ and about being truly alive. Jesus said: “I have come that they (meaning us) may have life in all its fullness.”

That means not just that we claim our own rights, but that we have a responsibility for making sure that all can live fully – so the Christian life is not just about my rights but my responsibility – to love unselfishly, to forgive and be forgiven, to care for others and want the best for them, too.

God calls us to live fully and to help others live fully, too, and, with God’s help, to make the world a better place.