Many years
ago, for a class, I was required to read a book titled Have We No Rights?
by Mabel Williamson. Copyright 1957. She was a missionary to China. She
explained how life on the mission field violated so many of the “rights” we
claim as Americans. People in the culture around her did not even recognize
these values and did not consider themselves rude or intrusive for violating
her “rights.” They were just living their version of normal lives. As a
Christ-follower who had come to introduce them to the Life Giver, she could not
demand to be treated as she would be treated in her home country. She very
literally had to “count everything as loss.” As one of her co-workers said, “I
found that I couldn’t stand up for my rights—that I couldn’t even have
any rights. I found that I had to give them up, every one, and that was the
hardest thing of all.”
She listed a
number of the familiar ways that had to be discarded in a new culture.
The right
to a “normal” standard of living.
In China,
rugs were for beds, not floors. Visitors tried politely to get to the chairs in
her living room without stepping on the “blanket” in the middle of the floor. Print
curtains on the windows were an extravagance. One missionary there resolved
never to have anything in her house that would make the ordinary people of the
neighborhood feel uncomfortable. That may have meant giving up most of the
usual furnishings, decorations and even customs of her former home.
The right
to conduct private affairs as one wishes.
Personal
cleanliness, hairstyles, clothing and societal rules may conflict with those of
the people to whom the missionaries wish to present the gospel. Offending the people’s
sense of propriety or decency would not be likely to win a fair hearing of the
message.
The right
to privacy.
This is a
biggie for Americans! Why, it’s even in our constitution! But Miss Williamson
found herself in a culture where people felt free to wander anywhere in her
house, inspecting all her things, anytime. It was difficult to find time to be
alone. If she wanted to tell them about Christ, she couldn’t push them out of
her house and life.
The right
to my own time.
We like to
plan our work and work our plan. That requires time management. Anything that
interferes with our time interferes with our plan. I once heard a woman say,
“If you’re going to minister to people, they’re going to mess with your time.”
Aaaargh! My time! We Americans have a preoccupation with time that is rare in
the world. (But since there are so many of us, we believe this is normal.) In
many cultures, time is not as important as respect for the person one is with
or finishing the current task or fulfilling cultural expectations.
The right
to feel superior.
Maybe this
isn’t a right; maybe it’s just a sin. But we do cling to it. We have better
everything than everyone else. Our stuff is better; our customs are better; our
language is more sensible (believe me, that’s not true!); our values are the
right ones. But our sense of superiority is not going to attract people to us
or to our Savior.
This is not
a comprehensive list; Miss Williamson mentioned other things in her book. We
may care about these same things, or our self-centeredness may encompass other
things.
Yes, it’s a
very old book, but I think the principles are relevant. “Rights” has become a
bigger part of our society than ever. People use the term to describe any value
or thing they want, whether or not it is truly a right. We Christians are drawn
into this thinking by virtue of our own selfishness as well as the continual
noise about it in our society. But, as Christians, we are in a different
culture. In fact, we live in a world in which we are the strangers. We ought to
follow the example of our Teacher, “who, though he was in the form of God, did
not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking
the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in
human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross.” Phil. 2:6-8
He had real
rights! And he gave up all of them.
One of
Christ’s most faithful followers, Paul, said, in the very next chapter, “But
whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count
everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as
rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…”
Really, our
rights are “rubbish” compared to the joy of knowing Christ. There are times
when we may need to throw out our rubbish because it is in the way of
faithfully representing Christ before a lost world.
Miss
Williamson concluded her book with the question, “What
rights do I have?”
A right to the “comforts” of life? No, but a right to the
love of God for my pillow.
A right to physical safety? No, but a right to the security
of being in His will.
A right to love and sympathy from those around me? No, but a
right to the friendship of the One who understands me better than I do myself.
A right to be a leader among men? No, but the right to be led
by the One to whom I have given my all, led as is a little child, with its hand
in the hand of its father.
A right to a home, and dear ones? No, not necessarily; but a
right to dwell in the heart of God.
A right to myself? No, but, oh, I have a right to Christ.
--Lynda
Shenefield
