“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”: Part One

Greetings from Houston, Texas! I am currently staying with my eldest brother’s family for Thanksgiving break. Last year, I remember spending Thanksgiving in Guanajuato, México while on the Fulbright. Although my dad came to visit me, I desperately missed soul food! This year, I was not disappointed. My brother’s wife outdid herself, and I finally contributed my own dish—no-bake Oreo truffles. They were a hit!

Now, a couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about Contentment. After listening to a sermon by the pastor of my church in Austin, I was motivated to make specific changes in the way that I live. I realized that I was allowing discontentment to eat at the joy that I have in Jesus Christ. I ended the post saying,

“From now until Thanksgiving, I will actively take steps to make knowing Christ the food that I consume and the Truth of the Gospel the clothes that I wear. Daily, I must remind myself...My money is God’s. Christ is at the center of my relationships. The Holy Spirit guides my time.”

The truth is, I am still in the process of making God the center of my life. I did, however, say no to going out with friends, so that I could be a better steward of my money. I read the Word of God when I would have normally convinced myself that I was “too tired”. Undoubtedly small, these are definitely steps in the right direction.

A recent discussion in my Nature of the International Systems course through my Master’s program raised important questions in my heart. One of my classmates said that every human on Earth has inalienable rights that are stated in the US Declaration of Independence, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” For some reason, this stuck with me. After looking up this important Declaration, I saw that two values that I hold dearly were listed before, God and Equality. If our God (Creator) formed each of us equally with these rights, shouldn’t it be important to know what exactly these words mean? We live in a day and age where words have become seemingly unimportant. We shorten them, we avoid them, and we use them purposelessly. 

What is Life?

• According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, life is the period between birth and death.
• According to Biology, life is defined by the following characteristics: Movement, Reproduction, Sensitivity, Nutrition, Excretion, Excretion, Respiration, and Growth, also known as Mrs. Nerg.
• According to Psychology: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs says every human being must have food, water, air, homeostasis, sleep, excretion, clothing, and sex (not for pleasure, but rather the continuation of the human race) in order to survive.

I have a few problems with defining life by Merriam, biology, and psychology.

1. If life is just the time between birth and death, then why do we strive to respect the dead? What is the purpose of a funeral? Why do Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead? Why do we seek to distribute their items according to a document (will) that they wrote?
2. To say that we have a right to life is to say that we are entitled. To be entitled is to qualify or deserve something. How could a newborn earn the right to live if they have lived for a moment? How does anyone that has ever done something wrong earn the right to life? Let me be the first to admit that I have not done anything to earn the right to breath, eat, or move. If you have ever done something wrong against your neighbor, how can you deserve something as precious as life?
3. It is obvious that we as humans have tried to determine who is deserving of life (abortion and death penalty laws). We have even created inequality by deciding who gets food and clean air.  

Now, I find the definition of Life according to God to be most persuasive: John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The him John is referring to is Jesus. So, verses 4-5 could be read as this, “In Jesus was life, and Jesus was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome Jesus.” Therefore, we have the right to Life which is Jesus Christ. This right was not something that we earned, but something that our Creator gave to us as a gift (grace). 
Unfortunately, our culture has distorted Christianity. We have turned Christianity into a religion of privilege. We have made it rich and we have made it white. Paul on the other hand, tells us in Galatians 3, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Jesus is God's ultimate reflection of Life and Equality.
Do not mistake my words. Just because we have Jesus does not mean we have some supernatural ability to go without food. In fact, in the Book of Matthew, Jesus said that our Heavenly Father cares for the sparrows and the flowers, so of course he will provide us with food and clothing. It was not until I experienced this provision in my own life that I truly believed it.
 
In conclusion, I would like to you think about the following:   

• If you think Life is just physiological, I encourage you think about whether or not you have earned the right to life.   
• If you believe that Jesus is Life and have not been forced to rely on him for food and clothing, thank God for his constant Provision.
• If you were able to read this post, you are in the 34% of people that has internet. You probably are in the 88% that has food, and nearly half of the deaths of children under age five occur because you and I have been too self-absorbed to care and make change.

I personally choose to believe that God has given me the right to know who Jesus is. I believe that God provides me with food on the table, and that He wants me to tell others that He can feed them spiritually and physically as well.