Just here to make up the numbers?

If you're anything like me, then you're not rich or famous, your name isn't in the newspapers or on the TV, you're not a celebrity or a film star, you haven't written a book, you don't have great power or influence, and beyond your family and friends you're probably not very widely known.

We hear and read about the rich, the famous and the powerful, the movers and shakers. But the rest of us ... well, we're just the 'extras' on the film set of life, we are just here to make up the numbers, the workers, the consumers, going about our insignificant lives, while the important people strut their stuff on the world stage.

This, at least, is the common notion.

And yet ... how strange it is, then, that Jesus had a clear bias in favour of the poor and downtrodden. In fact, he said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free," (Luke 4 v18). He also said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (Luke 18 v23)

If these were just well-meaning but empty words we could cast him aside as a woolly liberal. But he demonstrated that he meant what he said by his actions - to the point of being nailed to a gruesome cross for the nobodies of this world!

But this presents this nobody with a problem: I can no longer continue living my life out of the spot-light and in the safety of obscurity where no-one notices or cares - because Jesus does notice and care!

I am loved and given worth, and he offers new life and a new work to do in his kingdom.

So, are you here just to make up the numbers?

God's labels

As human beings we love to understand things, to sort out and categorise everything. We sort the contents of our kitchens into frozen goods, tinned goods, fresh produce, spices etc. We sort our books alphabetically, or by topic, or size or even colour. And we sort people into male and female, children, youths, adults and old people. Actually we go much further than this: we sort people into good and bad people, rich and poor people, different racial groups and lifestyles, people who are like us and those who are not, people who read this particular newspaper or drive that kind of car. Then we categorise personality traits, not just (for example) as 'rather gloomy', but 'depressed'; though actually even that won't do, for then we need to decide whether this is seasonal affective disorder, dysthymic disorder, a major depressive disorder, atypical depression, bi-polar disorder ... and so the list goes on.

Actually the list of the ways we categorise people goes on and on ... and on!

All this categorising others helps us to 'pigeon-hole' people and that simplifies our dealings with them enormously. Though in fact none of these labels are as straightforward as they at first sight appear! Even the most basic categorisation as 'male' or 'female' is actually much more complicated than it at first sight appears, and making even this simple division means that we end up not knowing the rich and diverse uniqueness of each individual; we know the stereotypes and the labels but not the person.

God knows each of us individually, even to knowing the number of hairs on their head, so we might suppose he'd be a master at labelling people. But he doesn't appear to use many labels at all in relating to us! There are a very few, though: 'sinner', but this applies to everyone equally; 'loved', yes this applies to every single person too, again equally! But there is one significant division that God accepts and painfully honours - there are those people who will accept his forgiveness and those who will not.

So, when God calls us by name, he is not relating to us through any stereotypes or labels. He knows me as 'Mark', and he knows you as - please substitute your own name.

Rights and wrongs

Rights

People tend to talk about their 'rights' in a catch-all manner, whereas the rights included in the European Convention on Human Rights are much more tightly defined, including basic rights such as:

• the right to life
• freedom from slavery and torture
• right to a fair trial
• freedom of speech, thought, conscience and religion

To the extent that the Convention on Human Rights is a helpful document, I would argue that it reflects God's character. For example:

• God gives life, both natural and spiritual. Our lives are in his hands alone; we are not to take that right back into human hands.
• God made all people equally in his image and all are equally loved. We are not to regard anyone as having more or less worth than another.
• Jesus died to free all who would accept him from the slavery to sin. We are not to put people into slavery or bondage of any kind.
• God is just; in Him there is no injustice. We are to act justly in all things.
• God gives us free choice over whether to accept Him or to turn our back on Him, as we wish. We are not to force, manipulate or coerce others in matters of religion.

Wrongs

But the 'rights agenda' goes far beyond the above, to grossly generalise our 'rights' into something like: I have a right to do anything I wish just so long as I don't hurt someone else. I can choose what to do with my life, how to spend my money and time, who to sleep with, even how and when to end my life - I have the right to choose all such things.

That's how the rights argument goes. And it seems difficult to argue against this; after all, what right do I have to tell you what to do or what is right for you?

This sounds just fine while we are thinking about the individual - be it 'me' or 'you'. But the reality is that these are not rights, they are wrongs! There is no such thing as an individual isolated from all others. We have family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and acquaintances, not to mention people around the whole world who are affected by our choices and actions; even future generations are affected.

What I choose to do with my life, how I behave, how I spend my money, who I sleep with, even what I watch on TV in the privacy of my own home - all these affect others, directly or indirectly by channeling funds, providing a market or an audience. My every action impacts on others.

Although the 'rights' argument sounds fine when we are talking about individuals, in reality we live as relational beings. Margaret Thatcher once famously said, "There is no such thing as society" (though this quote is taken out of context), but actually there is no such thing as 'the individual'. My choices and behaviour always affect others; my 'rights' always impinge on your 'rights'.

The difference

The difference between human rights, as conceived by the European Convention, and the 'rights agenda' is one of focus. The former is about protecting people from abuse by others; the latter is about a promoting my own desires over others. This is no small distinction! The former (in a small way) reflects God's nature, the latter is self-centredness and sin.

The way forward

At one level the way forward is to deliberately make choices that will do good to others, respect their humanity and dignity, and enhance the community and environment for others in the present and the future. However, this is a very partial answer - for our attempts to do good to others are severely limited and always tainted with self-interest. The deeper answer comes in an unexpected form.

The Bible tells us that we have all fallen short of God's standards and gone our own way (Isaiah 53 v6); there is no good in us. Promoting our own desires over others is nothing but arrogance or selfishness. Moreover - though this is not Biblical language - the Bible makes clear that before God we have no rights whatsoever; he is the creator, we the creatures; he is Lord, we the subjects! This is not a message likely to win many friends in this rights-driven age!

However, although this message sounds disheartening, it is a paradox. There is a stark contrast: the devil says 'stand up for your rights', but ultimately offers self-centredness, unhappiness and destruction; Jesus says 'you have no rights' but offers peace, joy and life to those who will accept it.

Those promoting their own rights will find that they have bought a lie, and built on quicksand. For myself, I'm happy in knowing that I have no rights, but am in the safest possible place - in the hands of the all-powerful but loving God.