We live in a day in which the cry for individual rights has resulted in a wholesale endorsement of individual wrongs. It seems any and every pervert, malcontent or screwball must have his or her wrongs protected as if they were rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Brethren have jumped on this bandwagon in principle to demand their right to do what they want to do, go where they want to go, say what they want to say, believe what they want to believe, then hide under an umbrella they call “liberty in Christ.”
We have been given the power of choice, but not without definite consequences. God says, “Rejoice, 0 young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment” (Ecc. 11:9). Just because I have the freedom to do this or that (and I don’t mean sin) does not mean that I ought to. Think about this in regard to other Christians.

Maybe our desire to do a certain thing is the result of feeling independent and that we really do not need anyone else when we fail to consider others in doing what we feel we have the right to do. Yet, one of the foundational principles of New Testament Christianity is that it does matter what others think, brethren or non-brethren. I may have the right to do this or that but I must evaluate what I do by the impact it may have on my brethren, the community and the cause of Christ. I cannot just do a thing be- cause I have the right. While the action may not be sinful, the attitude can be. Those who are striving for spiritual maturity live by this rule of action that characterized the Lord and the apostle Paul:
He wrote, “All (lawful) things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of anything (I Cor. 6:12). Again he wrote, “To the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have be come all things to all men that I might by all means save some” (I Cor. 922). I have the right to restrict myself from doing what I have the right to do for the benefit of my brethren and the peaceful working of the congregation. Faithful congregations across the land are filled with such folk who live by this rule, and things run smoother because of such an attitude. Are you in that number?