We get tied up in knots about whether healthcare is a human right or an earned privilege. We argue about whether food is a human right or an earned privilege. We debate whether education is a human right or an earned privilege. For those of us who believe in God, as revealed in Jesus of Nazareth, there is a way out of this conundrum.
Instead of asking what are human rights, we can ask what are God’s rights. What are the “rights” that we owe to God? Well, Jesus insisted it was his right to heal God’s children, without payment, even on the Sabbath (cf. Matthew 12.9-15). Jesus insisted it was his right to feed his disciples their daily bread, without payment, even on the Sabbath (cf. Mark 2.23-28). Jesus insisted it was his right to teach others, without payment, on the Sabbath (cf. Luke 4.16-31).
The Hebrew Scriptures assert similar rights for God as well. God demands, as God's rights, that his people be fed and healed and taught without demanding payment or profit from them. These Divine rights are expected to be fulfilled by the ancient Jewish community (cf. the Torah in places like Deu 15 or Lev 25), the early Christian community (cf. 1John or James), and by the Kings/Emperors who ruled over people (cf. injunctions in Proverbs or Romans 13). In fact, the Hebrew Prophets consistently declare that wicked rulers who exploit the poor, and false prophets who work for profits, are under God’s wrath (cf. Micah 3).
Now, Jesus does insist that those who do this work of healing and feeding and teaching should have daily bread to live on like everyone else, for “the worker is worth their wages” (cf. Matthew 10.10; Luke 10.7). But it was the community as a whole that provided this living wage, and not the needy who are being helped. And no one is ever to gain an excess of wealth at the expense of someone else suffering from lack of necessities.
So it is actually God’s rights we are infringing on when we deny his children food or medical care or education until they can pay a for-profit institution to provide these necessities. I feel uneasy setting up a socio-economic system that systematically denies God his rights, and demands payment for necessities that God requires for God’s children. It would be bad to be complicit in such a system and have to stand before God one day and answer for why we conspired to deny God his rights, and deny his children their daily bread. Collectively and individually, we will have to answer for whether we have honored God’s rights by making sure the least and last and lost are provided for (cf. Matthew 25.31-46).
So, while I am happy to speak of Human Rights (because they are real and necessary), I am also aware that these rights are founded on something deeper: The Rights of God. Humans enjoy negative rights (freedom FROM coercion, unjust violence, or abridgment of speech), as well as positive rights (access TO daily bread, medical care, and education). But these rights derive from the God who made us in God’s image as God’s children, so that we may thrive and flourish and grow into all the potential God has placed within us. When we create social systems that deprive God’s children of the means of full flourishing, we are depriving God of what we owe God by right.
Now American Religion is often quite different from the Spiritual Path that Jesus taught. And American Religion often uses select passages from the Bible to separate out our spiritual and private life from our economic and public life. American Religion teaches us that all we have to do is assent to certain facts about Jesus with our mind, and accept it in our heart, and we are saved and free from any judgment or disciplinary correction from God. But this is American Religion, not the Way of Jesus. The letter of James sneers at this idea when talking about the necessary connection between faith in Christ and works of Love when it says "even the demons believe [God is one], and shudder" (James 2.19). But not only does James sneer at a separation between belief in God versus living in such a way as to fulfill what is rightfully God's. The whole Bible balks at such a distinction. And not only the Bible, but Jesus himself. Jesus teaches that faith is shown in faithfulness to DO what God requires. For instance:
Matthew 25.31–46 [31] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. [32] All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, [33] and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
[34] Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; [35] for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, [36] I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
[37] Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? [38] And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? [39] And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ [40] And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
[41] Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; [42] for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
[44] Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ [45] Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ [46] And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Does this mean no free market, no profit, no wealth creation, no entrepreneurs, no for-profit businesses? No, not at all. It just means that in setting up a society, the for-profit markets do not control everything, especially those resources that are necessary for God's children to survive and thrive. Markets have their place. But also public resources and utilities have their place. And it is God's rights to demand that we create a social system that meets the basic needs for all of God's children before we prioritize private wealth creation and abundance for the few. We owe it to God. And on the Last Day I do not want to stand before the Son of Man and explain why it was necessary to create a social system that starved and sickened many people un-necessarily so that a few people could have extravagant abundance. Because we own nothing ultimately. It all belongs to God. And we will have to account for how we used it.
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