• Dene's Blog
  • About Dene
  • Contact Dene
  • Dene's Recipes
  • Dene's Books
  • Dene's Classbooks
  • Gallery
  • Recommended Sites
  • FAQ & Tutorial
  Flight Paths

December 15, 1791—The Bill of Rights

12/15/2017

0 Comments

 
On September 25, 1789, Congressed proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the various state legislatures.  On December 15, 1791, ten of those amendments, numbers 3 through 12, were ratified.  (The two amendments not ratified dealt with the number of representatives and with the payment of both senators and representatives.)  Written by James Madison, those ten rights were strongly based on England's Magna Carta of 1215, which protected subjects from royal abuse of power.  The original Constitution faced strong opposition until those ten rights were ratified.  Many of us learned to recite them in history class.
                 As Americans we are proud of our type of government—democracy.  Our patriotism makes us salute the flag, sing the national anthem with gusto, and stand ever ready to recite our rights when we feel they are being violated.
              Christians should be careful about those “rights.”  Christians are servants of the Lord, of each other, and of everyone else too.  …in lowliness of mind each counting the other as better than himself, Phil 2:3.  As an American your instant reaction is, “All men are created equal—no one is better than I am.”  That is a difficult thing to overcome because it is a whole lot more satisfying in this world, in this life.
              The Corinthians had a problem with this too.  When disputes arose among them, they took each other to law.  Paul said, in effect, “Shame on you!” in I Cor 6:1-6.  Then he added, Why not rather take wrong?  Why not rather be defrauded? (v 7).  But that’s not fair!  I have my rights!
              No, you don’t.  Not if you are a Christian.  Christians ought to love the cause of Christ more than their own personal interests.  They should be more horrified at the idea of injuring His mission than in losing dollars or taking a personal insult.  Any time the way we act hurts the body of Christ or its mission we are wrong, whether it goes against our “rights” as Americans or not. 
              My opinion doesn’t matter if it hurts my brother.  My preferences do not matter if they keep the church from being able to better accomplish its goal to save the lost.  My “right” to function in the body of Christ doesn’t matter if someone else can better edify the group.  Any time I push my rights, I have lost the essence of Christianity—humility and service to one another and to Christ. 
              Any time things don’t go our way, it is almost automatic for us to think, “But I have my rights!”  That is ingrained in us from the time we hit grade school and memorize the Bill of Rights.  Christians do not have a Bill of Rights.  Be very glad of that.  The only thing we have a right to is Hell.  Instead, God became man and made it possible for us to have something we could never possibly have a right to—Heaven.  It’s time to stop thinking about “rights” and start praising Him for “grace” instead.
 
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?  But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued trusting himself to him who judges justly, 1 Pet 2:16,20,21,23.
 
Dene Ward
 
 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Author
    Dene Ward has taught the Bible for more than  forty years, spoken at women’s retreats and lectureships, and has written both devotional books and class materials. She lives in Lake Butler, Florida, with her husband Keith.


    Categories

    All
    A Wives Series
    Bible People
    Bible Study
    Birds & Animals
    Book Reviews
    Camping
    Children
    Cooking Kitchen
    Country Life
    Discipleship
    Everyday Living
    Faith
    Family
    Gardening
    Grace
    Guest Writer
    History
    Holiness
    Humility Unity
    Materialism
    Medical
    Music
    Prayer
    Psalms
    Salvation
    Trials

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly