Stop Tripping People

A teen age boy was sprawled across a seat in the lobby. His legs blocked the walkways. When ever someone came along the boy would sit up and move his legs to enable them to get by. Finally, he decided it was too much hassle and just sat upright in his chair so he didn’t have to move so often.

At the other end of the lobby, a young man was sprawled in a similar position. After an older woman fell attempting to step over his legs, a security guard asked him to sit up so people could get past. He responded that it was a public place and he’d got there first so he had a right to sit how he wanted. When the police were called, he became quite angry, accusing them of ignoring his rights. One officer attempted to explain that while he had a right to sit there, he did not have the right to prevent others from safely doing their business. He was threatening to sue when he was escorted from the building.

No one asked the first boy to leave the building because he was concerned about the safety of others and was willing to sacrifice his own benefit for others. No one minded his taking whatever position he desired. The second young man, on the other hand, was only interested in his own comfort and pleasure, and angered a number of people. He lost the privilege of being in the building as a result.

A lot of people today are like the second young man, insisting they have a right to do what they want with no concern for anyone else. Like the young man, it may be necessary to take away their privilege for the good of others.. They have no right to ignore the rights of others.

Just as the first boy’s willingness to move out of the way was a sign of maturity, so a willingness to yield on such points indicates a level of spiritual maturity. We have a responsibility to show spiritual maturity ourselves, and to teach younger Christians to develop it. Romans 14:13 stresses that we must not cause another to stumble by demanding our way. It is sin for us to do so, even though we believed what we demanded to be right. God has given us a great deal of freedom, but we do not have the right to deprive others of their’s. God has not authorized us to set our own standards.