In the festivities of the fourth of July my attention was turned to the Declaration of Independence. I have often pondered the reasoning behind the actions of those who signed the document. They refer to truths which are self evident, one of which is that men are “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

I reflect this statement back onto a trip I took to the White Earth Indian Reservation last month.

I went to join a mission team that goes there every year to minister to the local kids and youth through VBS. During the trip I was once again made aware of the lasting scars that remain on this country due to abuse of power, to greed, arrogance and false religion. Certainly the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence were not unaware that the land and culture of the native peoples were being destroyed. The same can be said concerning the slaves; the phrase “all men” clearly was not meant to refer to all men; only those men who were of a certain race and social standing.

But this is not surprising; we know that people are sinful and selfish no matter what sort of noble document they may compose. We know what is good and true, but we only pay attention to it when it serves us. I’m not one to waste breath berrating the abuses of power throughout American history; I would only be stating the obvious and contributing to the depressing national degradation so prevelent today that only serves to give the preacher of it a false sense of self-righteousness. Sin is everywhere, and if you really want to dwell on it you have quite enough to contemplate in your own self to keep you occupied.

The question is this: Given that we live in a world of greed and abuse, what are we to do about it? The Founding Fathers would say that we must stand up for our rights! We must confront tyranny as a people and demand our rights. Well this may work for some, but what about those who don’t have the guns and ships to back up that demand? What about the Africans who are chained to the slave ships? What about the indians who are converted and submit to Christianity and then are stripped of their heritage and culture by the Priests they trusted and the government with whom they made treaties? What about the Iraqi civilian who can only watch as his hometown becomes a battle field? What about the unborn child who’s life is taken before she even has a voice? Are we to tell these people to stand up for their rights?

Christ calls us to transcend these issues, to side step the political pavers and get to the heart of the matter: we have no unalienable rights to claim.

According to God’s plan rights are never to be claimed, rather freedom and peace is only given. It is the freedom not from political entities but a freedom to rest in him, living a life of good works in love. This freedom is given from him and is extended by each individual to another through the giving of the self to the other.