Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ, who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men (Philippians 2:5-7 TLB).

We in America hear and talk a lot about rights, and we’re pretty keen to fight for the ones most important to us, too. 

Miranda rights, inalienable rights, the right to bear arms. The right to an education. The right to earn a livable wage, the right to affordable healthcare, the right to pay reasonable amounts of money for gas and groceries. The right to wear a mask or not. The right to have an opinion about any and everything, the right to broadcast said opinion to the entire world, and the right to tell others how wrong we think they are, thankyouverymuch! 

While fighting for one's rights is sometimes right, this singular line of thinking tends to keep our focus inward. Clinging to one’s rights at the expense of others…that’s not what Christians are called to do.

It goes against everything our culture rages about to put aside one’s own rights for the sake of others. This Counter-Culture for the Common Good was/is a radical idea, and Jesus was the first to model it for us. He arrived on earth as a helpless baby, and rather than take his rightful place as King on Earth by force, He “laid aside his mighty power and glory” for the good of all mankind. He endured mocking and false accusations and not once threw a fit because his right to be acknowledged as God wasn’t being fulfilled. He lived a life counter to his culture, and he died a sinner’s death…all for the good of you and for the good of me.

If Jesus laid down his rights in order to seek the highest good for us and the world, why shouldn't we follow him? Not by changing laws or by force but, like Jesus, voluntarily laying down our entitlements in order to seek the highest good of our neighbors. If anyone had a right to make demands and cling to his rights, it was Jesus, yet he put all that aside for us. He laid down his rights as God for the common good of all mankind, and I can think of no better example for us today than Jesus.

Ask yourself this question today: “Am I so caught up on asserting my rights that I’m not seeing the needs of others?” What’s one way you can begin to put others first?