This Week in History: Your Right to Watch The Kardashians
It’s hard to imagine America’s founding leaders squabbling over the Constitution. After all, what’s not to like about it?
Some things merit debate. For instance:
- Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
- Why do adults have difficulty with child-proof bottles?
- Why is “abbreviation” such a long word?
But the Constitution? What’s there to squabble over?
We know the Constitution outlines the role and rights of the government. But some thought the constitution could inevitably give the government too much power. In other words, the constitution was all about the rights of the government, but nothing about the rights of the individual. They ended the squabble with this:
We’ll pass the Constitution, but then we will immediately draft a Bill of Rights to protect the rights of the individual.
And that’s what they did. On December 15, 1791, Virginia was the last state needed to ratify the ten amendments called the Bill of Rights. And because of that, I am free to write this blog post. And TV producers are free to give us shows like The Bachelor.
We love our rights and the freedoms they give us. But I have found a greater freedom in giving up my rights. Democracy is the best government humanly possible, but I prefer to live under the total authority of a King: Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to life—the best life—by calling us to let go of the one we have:
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it (Luke 9:24).
So, Virginia, thanks for your vote and securing my rights as an American citizen. But my true citizenship is in heaven under the lordship of Christ.
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil. 3:20).
