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To disparage rights altogether would be to side with Esau in despising his rights as firstborn. And undervaluing rights has led to atrocities from Abu Ghraib to Auschwitz. But let's remember that we guarantee rights to guarantee our obligations. The gospel liberates individuals and repeatedly assures Christians that they're "joint heirs" with Christ, but it's not big on the rights of self-interest. We're heirs first of Christ's suffering. We're slaves of Christ, slaves of righteousness, and slaves to each other.

Biblical freedom is not the "rights" of American autonomy. Paul was rarely shy about listing off his many rights—as a Roman citizen, as a Christian, as an apostle—but he recognized that invoking them can hurt, especially when they lend themselves to selfishness. Paul was entitled to funds from the church in Corinth, but noted, "We have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. … Though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all."

This is the kind of "Christian right" that needs much more attention.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More Christianity Today coverage of the Terri Schiavo case is available here.

This column appeared in the magazine's May 2005 print issue as "Weblog in Print," CT's effort to duplicate on paper our popular online Weblog feature. Earlier entries include:

Who's Driving This Thing? | Everyone is asking who leads the evangelical movement. (Feb. 21, 2005)

Bad Believers, Non-Believers | Do religious labels really mean anything? (Oct. 19, 2004)

Pro-Abortion Madness | The abortion lobby has abandoned its rationales amid pro-life gains. (Aug. 17, 2004)

Grave Images | The photos from Abu Ghraib have reopened debate on the power of pictures.

Misfires in the Tolerance Wars | Separating church and state now means separating belief and action (Feb. 24, 2004)

A Theoblogical Revolution | Billy Graham's vision goes from print to online, then back again. (Jan. 16, 2004; Weblog update: "New Kids on the Blog," Feb. 13, 2004)

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May 2005, Vol. 49, No. 5