Rights vs. privileges

You have no rights.

I don’t either.

All we have are privileges.

As I wrote about the common objections to slavery, I realized I’d not specifically written much about rights or privileges. This isn’t a comprehensive post about them, but I’d like to open the discussion.

First off…

Rights (by definition)

Rights are actions you deserve or are owed to you.

For example, you might have the right to walk in the street instead of the sidewalk (your action) without anyone spitting on you (everyone else’s action). You deserve it.

Rights are slippery – politicians and philosophers (et al.) have spent lifetimes discussing the definition. Hopefully this definition, though, sums it up fairly loosely.

The problem with rights

When we don’t have rights, we’ll often try to fight for them. Check all the civil rights and social justice movements, right?

But once we have those rights, we often forget we had to fight for them. We forget that they can be taken away. After all, we deserve them – they’re no longer…

Privileges (by definition)

Privileges are a type of gift.

• A father can give a child the privilege of riding shotgun.
• A brother can give his brother the privilege of playing with his LEGO set.
• A woman can give a man the privilege of marrying her (for me, that’s how it would work, not the other way around, but whatever).

Privileges are given and received (rights are deserved and taken).

In common conversation, “rights” and “privileges” are often used interchangeably, so don’t let the terms slow you up. The way I use them, rights are more like the political version you know and love, and privileges are more like the personal version you receive every day.

So here’s the deal…

You and I can fight for rights all we want. We can think we deserve the right to life, deserve the right to property, deserve the right to pursue happiness… fine.

But they’re not really rights. From an entirely human perspective, they might seem that way. And because most people don’t take God seriously, they’re left to assume rights stop on the human level.

But for those who know better, rights don’t exist. We don’t deserve anything.

• We don’t deserve free speech.
• We don’t deserve clean air to breath.
• We don’t deserve retirement compensation.
• We don’t deserve a ride on the Merry-Go-Round.
• We don’t deserve happiness or its pursuit or any other pursuit for that matter.

You and I only deserve death. Because we’re sinners, and sinners deserve death and torture and punishment.

Frankly, I don’t want what I deserve – I want what God gives me. I want the privileges He gives.

Rights are justice. Justice hurts.

Privileges are mercy and grace. I want the mercy and grace. Thankfully – and this is why I’m fired up about Christ – God wants to give me mercy and grace. Our desires align. For that, I’m ecstatic.

And for that, people will come to Christ… because they want mercy and grace too. But they won’t come if they think they deserve anything. No one cares about the gift giver if they think they deserve the gifts.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Make a list (yes, I’m a big fan of lists). Make a list of 20 “rights” you really, really like.

(2) Now, those items on your list, are they rights or privileges? Do you deserve them, or do you just receive them? What would God say?