Some followers of Jesus have been taught it is less than spiritual to demand your rights as a citizen. They have been taught our faith should be disconnected from such demands. The Apostle Paul had a different opinion. While he did not preach his rights as the core of his message, he did exercise them when needed.
Paul was arrested in Jerusalem under false charges, bound in chains, and taken to the fortress. In an attempt to calm an increasingly violent crowd who believed the false charges brought against him, Paul asked the commander of the guards if he could speak to the crowd. Paul shared his testimony about his strict obedience to Jewish law and then in a surprise encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus how his life was forever changed. The text relates that “The crowd listened until Paul said that word” (Acts 22: 22). “That” word was the word “Gentiles.” In his testimony, Paul shared the Lord’s instruction for him to move beyond the Jewish world, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!” (vs. 21). Hearing that Paul was willing to associate with Gentiles was too much for the Jewish crowd and they went wild.
The Roman commander removed Paul from the mob and brought him inside the fortress to whip him to force a confession. When Paul was tied down in preparation for a whipping, Paul asked one of the officers, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t been tried?” (vs. 25). That one question stopped the proceedings dead in its tracks. The answer to Paul’s question would lead him on a long journey bringing his cause before various Roman officials along the way finally presenting his appeal to Caesar in Rome.
Paul’s experience provides interesting insight regarding the exercise of our civil rights as a believer. Paul chose to exercise his rights as long as that exercise honored the Lord and did not compromise his calling.
So, what’s the problem today regarding this issue in some circles within the Church? Some followers of Jesus have been led to believe that exercising our rights is less spiritual than just accepting injustice without opposition. In a totalitarian nation where no human rights exist that might be the only recourse, but not in a free nation where people still have rights and a system is in place to enforce and protect those rights.
Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to exercise our right to vote. As we cast our vote, we have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights in place that protects and enforces the freedoms outlined in those documents. These are promises made to us as citizens of the United States. While the freedom to exercise our rights is still available to us and we can do so without abandoning our faith, compromising our character, and dishonoring the Lord, we should exercise those rights. We should demand those rights be honored for others as well, even those with whom we have a conflicting worldview. Like Paul, we will never know where the exercise of our rights will lead us until we exercise them.
Not only is voting a right, voting is a responsibility. “The Lord will bring you and your king, which YOU will set over you, to a nation which you nor your fathers have known, and there you will serve other gods, wood and stone.” The body of Christ enters the voting booth when you do.