Asking the Wrong Questions About Rights and Freedom

When we focus on the wrong question of What rights does the government give us?, we come up with all kinds of wrong answers and find all sorts of things to which we believe we are entitled, if we only have the help of the government and the courts on our side.

Anytime a government is seen as any person’s savior, coming to the rescue with money in hand to solve any and every problem, the government is doing the exact opposite of its God-given role. Let me say it a different way.

The government was never intended to be our savior or to provide for our needs beyond keeping our rights secure. Government was established to guard our freedoms so that we could enjoy our God-given rights. It was also intended to be a place to find resolution on conflicting rights which happen in a broken world.

And I’d argue that the way we enjoy our rights is intimately related to our freedom to see our Savior, Jesus Christ, in whom all our needs are met. When we see our rights as given by God and their purpose as pointing us to the source of those rights—God Himself—we will pursue a wholehearted relationship with the One who is our legitimate Savior. As Jesus said,

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Do you want Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness? There is a way and it’s not through the government. It’s through a Savior—the one who paid the high cost of our ultimate freedom.