Have We No Rights?

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