The Demanding Of Personal Rights: Is It Wordly

From whence come wars and fightings

among you? come they not hence, even

of your lusts that war in your members? 

Ye lust, and have not; ye kill, and desire

to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight 

and war, yet ye have not, because ye

ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because

ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it

upon your lusts. 

James 4:1-3

     James uses an interesting contrast in words: "wars," and "fightings," and it would seem that both are speaking the same thing. So why use both words? The Greek word: "πόλεμοι" means to battle or be engaged in battle, and is not the fighting itself for that is another Greek word: "μάχαι" that means to actually be doing the battle, but figuratively means controversy as in the word for wars is where we get the English word, polemics. Polemics carries the meaning of a controversial argument as against another opinion, and speaks of a person who likes to argue. James is not speaking of an actually war as between two nations or peoples and there was many warfare going on in the world in which James lived, but this is not what he is writing about. The context (remember is is always context, context, context in interpretation of Scripture) for James gives is the reason for his using of those words: "Is it not thence, from your pleasures, which war in your members?" (James 4:1b). James is speaking about a person and the fact that that person is one who is using controversy, that is like to argue and this because he feels that his right to pleasure is being challenged. Is this not a problem in our world today whereby people are always speaking about "their rights?" Yes! We hear and know of the right of a woman to have an abortion even without consulting the father (if he is known), or that homosexuals have rights for their abnormal behavior and both are demanding laws so that there is a legal basis for these "rights." 

     It is true that a person has rights over their own bodies to protect them and safeguard them. Even some protection for their personal rights for their reputation and freedom of movement, to have privacy, and laws have been made to protect those rights. The basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are considered to be entitled, often held to include the rights to life, liberty, equality, and a fair trial, freedom from slavery and torture, and freedom of thought and expression. All rights have a foundation, a basis from which they are formed: A 'right' is a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man's freedom of action in a social context. There is only one fundamental right (all others are its consequences or corollaries): a man's right to his own life. Therefore what must be considered is the morals from which a right is formed and this was done as with no other nation when the United States and its Constitution came into being: "The concept of individual rights is so new in human history that most men have not grasped it fully to this day. 

"It was the concept of individual rights that had given birth to a free society. It was with the destruction of individual rights that the destruction of freedom had to begin. 
"If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others, it means that those others are deprived of rights and condemned to slave labor.  Any alleged 'right' of one man, which necessitates the violation of the rights of another, is not and cannot be a right.  No man can have a right to impose an unchosen obligation, an unrewarded duty or an involuntary servitude on another man.  There can be no such thing as the 'right to enslave.' " 
"The term 'individual rights' is a redundancy: there is no other kind of rights and no one else to possess them." 
                                                 -- Ayn Rand in "Man's Rights"

      When a person is demanding a "right" because that right gives them a pleasure of some sort, as in a woman having an abortion so that she will not become encumbered by a child so that she can continue in a life of fornication has stepped on the right of an unborn child, as well as the father may not have agreed to the death of this child in the womb. You see, a woman, and a man do not want an unchosen obligation, yet they knew that to have sex is to have a great probability that a pregnancy could occur. (They do it anyway for they want the pleasure, it is simply lust in action). A homosexual wants to have this euphoric pleasure, even knowing that this lifestyle is in opposition to what is considered normal in society. Yet, they press forward demanding this "right" even if it does harm to society as a whole (all one has to do is look at countries that have allowed this and now find themselves in financial trouble because the future children who would have paid taxes are not being born). 

     A person may ask government, or even attempt to get society on their side, and even go so far as to ask God to give them this "right." A person asks, but does not receive from God what he is asking for he asks for the wrong thing. He asks so that he/she can receive pleasure and will even go to war (controversy, attempting by argument to sway government, or people to their way of thinking just so they can have some form of pleasure). James is not ashamed to give us what he is speaking about for he is speaking about evil and evil is anything that is contrary to the Law and Will of God, not just man for man is secondary. 

     "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore with be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4). How serious is this? Most serious for James under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives to us the will of God: Do not be a friend of the world! If this is what you desire, and lust after, well then you are an enemy of God and you will be condemned to Gehenna on the Last Day when Jesus returns. You see: an Authentic Christian is not a friend of this world and removes from themselves all stain and stench that they may have acquired before believing upon Jesus Christ and converting to Him. Are you Authentic? Or, are you pretending to be Authentic?

For, lo, they that are far

    from Thee shall perish:

Thou hast destroyed all them

    that go whoring from thee.

                    Psalm 73:27

Christianity is serious business

Richard L. Crumb