Rights vs. Responsibilities

A friend of mine not too long ago said that I was spoiled.
I asked why, and he said, “You’ve suffered very little.”
My response: “I’ve had my fair share of troubles.”
“Yeah, but those were ‘Orange County troubles.’”

Hiss, burn, ouch. =(

Partly for missions prep and partly for personal enjoyment, I'm reading John Piper's Let the Nations Be Glad (thanks, Philip Chung). The first two chapters on "The Supremacy of God in Worship” and “The Supremacy of God in Prayer” naturally fit in with my preconceived beliefs like the pieces of a puzzle.

But then I hit the most difficult chapter yet: “The Supremacy of God in Suffering.”

Suffering. Martyrdom. Sacrifice. Eyuw. Theologically touchy subjects.

Piper calls all Christians to anticipate suffering. But I realized I’ve suffered very little both physically and spiritually having grown up in Orange County. It’s no wonder why I grew uncomfortable and even doubtful when reading over Jesus’ promise that I’m called to “share in His sufferings” – “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20).

It was like Sarai when she laughed at God’s promise in disbelief: I chuckled, “Really, God?”

But in the days following, I began to notice little pangs of guilt each time I chose not to suffer: $3.82 at Yogurtland, $28.30 at Forever 21, $13 at AMC Theaters… In order to ease this schism, I began to look for suffering in a place like Los Angeles – the “City of Angels.” And the ridiculous solution I came up with was this: I started divvying out how much of each paycheck I’d spend on giving to others – 10% on tithe, 20% on giving to missions, 10% on ministry needs, 10% on my own needs, 10% to enjoy with friends, 10 % on savings, etc…For a while, this slightly eased my pain and worry of “not having suffered enough” (legalism to the max, right?). But after about a month of ridiculous paycheck splitting and budgeting, it all came down to my desire to know God’s heart. I asked, “How much of a right do I as a Christian have to enjoy the pleasures in life, and how much of a responsibility I have to suffer?” Even in the context of ministries, like when Sarang Church or eCollege spends a lavish budget on ministry events like Christmas banquets or leaders retreats, I wondered, should we feel guilty for the money we spend that could have gone to feed hungrier stomachs? God, is your Church in Orange County “suffering enough?”

The matters of balancing Christian hedonism and ascetism seemed irrelevant when I found the answer:

1. As Christians, we have no rights. – (yikes, is that too harsh) Especially when we’re raised with the mentality of “work hard, play hard,” or “you deserve it,” or “if you want it, you gotta work for it,” it’s so, so, so easy to develop the mentality that we’re worthy if we work for it. If we paid the price, then it’s ours to keep. The time and energy we spend on our friends, our money, our achievements, and our successes become our license to entitlement and we claim the right to handle money/resources in whatever way we want. But the truth is that the only “right” we deserve in the eyes of an infinitely righteous God is the right to die. (Romans 6:23) I forgot that God paid the ultimate price and thus is the ultimate owner of my everything. My works are infinitesimal compared to His glory. If anyone “worked for it” or “deserve it,” it’s God.

2. We have every responsibility to obey. – As people who belong to God, it is a duty (no doubt a joyful one) to adhere to His ordinances! However, there is no requirement of us to look for self-induced suffering. Instead, it is simply our responsibility to obey the two greatest commandments: love God and to love others. And from that love sprouts good deeds unto others as well as the will and strength to endure any suffering. I absolutely love the way Paul words it:

2 Corinthians 8:8-9 – “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

I think what both Piper and Paul are coming down to on the subject of suffering is that when your heart is in the right place, our actions naturally follow Christ’s example.

It’s true that I’ve suffered very little. But it’s my prayer that when the occasion for suffering arrives, I’ll be ready with a developed understanding that I made a decision to “take up the cross” and that in sharing in Christ's suffering, the glory will all the more be redounded to God.