Hebrews 12: 14
I know my rights. Thankfully, I live in a country that guarantees me many rights. The founders of our government believed that our creator gave certain rights to us, and they formed a government that protected those rights. However knowing what is my right, is not the same as knowing what is right. God does not call Christians to demand every right that is theirs. God calls upon Christians to always do, and say what is right. It is impossible to make every effort to live in peace while at the same time demanding every single one of our rights. Driving on our highways is a simple example of this principle. At an intersection, I may have the right of way, but to avoid a collision, I yield to a reckless driver. In our effort to live in peace, sometimes we yield to another to keep the peace. This is not always easy, because some of us are very prideful and we do not like to yield. It is not the way of the world to yield when we are in the right; it is other than the way the world functions. A literal definition of the Hebrew word for holy is “other.” When we yield our rights in order to maintain peace, we are being holy; we are being other than the world is. Without holiness, we will not live to see the Lord.

Yielding our rights as individuals and as a congregation of believers is not the same as saying our governments should yield to wickedness. God ordains governments to protect citizens from oppressors. God’s demand that we live in peace with others is not an excuse to surrender to evil oppression. A desire for peace is not an excuse to avoid fighting evil. Making every effort to live in peace and at the same time, making every effort to protect the weak and the powerless is difficult. It is not always easy to know what to do. Serving the Lord means that sometimes, we must be both peacemakers and peacekeepers.