Rights Don't Make Us Right

     I imagine that most of the readers of this blog (which I think at the moment includes only my mom and Jim Harding) may be aware that in 2001, the Supreme Court of the U.S. acknowledged the constitutional right for Christian groups to meet inside of schools on the same terms as non-religious groups that are similar. So, for example, if a school district allows a Boy Scout or Girl Scout group to meet on the premises free of charge, then they must also allow a Crossroads Kids Club to use the facilities under the same terms and conditions. Both groups are focused on character formation. One (Crossroads) does so from a Christian viewpoint, but it is illegal to discriminate against a group based on its religious viewpoint.

     So, under the Constitution of the U.S. as interpreted by the highest court in the land, we have some limited legal rights to access. I am thankful for this, of course, but I have also been thinking about a phrase in Philippians chapter 2 in the New Living Translation (1996 edition). It says that Jesus "did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form" (verses 6b-7). I have been thinking about what this means for me and for Crossroads Kids Club. We sincerely love the children in public schools, and we want to share the love and Word of Jesus with them because of that love. We are called to love our neighbors who are public school administrators and board members as well. This creates a bit of a dilemma at times because I am finding that many school districts have policies that are either ambiguous or just flat out unconstitutional. Churches have a legal right to challenge these policies, and yet I think doing so may not be following Jesus' example. He did not "demand and cling to his rights." What if we could say to a school in a gracious way, "Your policies are illegal and we'd love to help you fix them, but even if not we want to serve you and your students. We want to help and not hurt. We give up our rights and lay aside our demands. Your policies will not allow us to have a Christian after-school club, but what can we do to serve?" In other words, how can we approach schools with the humility of Jesus who gave up his rights and took on flesh? I think if we can figure that out, doors will begin to open even wider than they might if we simply pushed hard on them.