When life gives you a friend who will bravely tell the truth in all situations, no matter the consequences, hang on to that friend like your life depends on it. It very well may someday.
The problem is that you may not necessarily want to hear that truth and you might even want to take issue with it, at first.
Such was the case when one of my dearest friends looked at me one day and said, “The day I became a Christian I gave up my rights.”
Whoa. What? I may be a Born-Again Believer but I still have the right to peace and prosperity, right?
I still deserve the opportunity to be happy and productive, to grow my business. My voice is important. God wants me to be happy, surely.
I can hear those rolled-up Constitutions being flattened out for review as we speak. “But it says right here…”
Now understand this. I love this country. I am grateful that God saw fit to place me here to raise a family. My oldest son served this great nation and continues to serve. I believe in the principles of government explicitly laid out in the foundational documents of this great American Experiment. I would do whatever it took to defend it. Do not dare attempt to paint me as anything less.
This is bigger. This is a conversation about what mindset we should maintain as we journey alongside others who inhabit this planet with us, many of which are nothing like us.
This is not easy and I don’t do this well. I am naturally selfish. I prefer my comfort, my opinion, my preferences over the comfort, opinions and preferences of others.
When I became a dad 30 years ago I decided then that it was no longer “about me”. Now I am learning that when I became a true Christ-follower I surrendered my very life to something much bigger than the subject of most discussions we find ourselves wrapped up in today.
We would do well to stop worrying about our rights and start focusing on the needs of others.
My allegiance is to a different Kingdom. In that I give up my rights and through that I can find true freedom. Keeping this top of mind helps me in so many ways. It truly gives me hope. I hope it will do the same for you. Kevin Anderson-General Manager 94 FM The Fish Nashville
