Man’s definition of love suggested passive responses to conflict. A person’s rights were secondary if he was to walk in love. He was to turn the other cheek in a confrontation. He was to look the other way if lawlessness challenged him. However, love has many characteristics including mercy and justice. The first mention of mercy is contained in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. The Lord was merciful toward Lot and his family. His kindness and goodness prevailed in saving Lot from destruction. Lot had moved to the area and was drawn by his lust. From a standpoint of justice, Lot should have perished with the rest of the population. However, The Lord’s mercy superceded justice since Abraham had interceded on Lot’s behalf. Once Lot had been removed from the city, justice intervened and all perished. The lawlessness and lasciviousness were wiped out. God is Love in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Love demands justice. Love prefers that mercy prevail if possible. Many who have read the Old Testament could not reconcile how Our Heavenly Father could have killed so many people. When you view their physical death as a chapter in their individual eternity, you can understand the necessity of removing them from further judgment. If we all are ultimately reconciled unto The Father, we must be cleansed and purged of sin so that we may go before The Throne of God. All of us will be cleansed of sin whether it is accomplished before our physical death or afterwards. It was by mercy that Our Father removed the people of Sodom and Gomorrah from their path of destruction.
You have the right to choose your own path. Even though you are called to "turn the other cheek", you are not required to remain in the presence of those who would abuse you and practice lawlessness in your presence. At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the workers of iniquity (lawlessness) to depart from His presence. He warns us not to judge a person’s heart, but to judge the fruit (or lack of). He further tells us in Matthew 7 to not only hear His words but to "do" them. It is your right and responsibility to judge the fruit. It is your right to cease promoting unfruitfulness in yourself and others.
In 2 Kings Chapter 7, there were four leprous men at the gates of the city during a famine. These men had no future. They were destined for death but then made a choice:
3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also.
Although contained within another story, these men made a choice to take action and step out of their assumed path of hunger and death. Once they took action to leave their path of destruction, they found sustenance and life. John the Baptist (the greatest prophet) told us to Repent! Repent means to change your mind or current path which is one of destruction. Was the command to be only considered once in a person’s life and only relevant to salvation? Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 3 that the Law was our schoolmaster until faith has come. We are to walk in faith and towards life. We are to turn away from death and destruction. That is our right. Those who are given to destruction must not lead us to the same end.
Through the choices you make, you support either life or death. If you smoke or take drugs, you are choosing death. It may not be immediate but its conclusion will not be without pain. As a child of God you are not a child of circumstance. Our Father has given us the choice which frees us from being confined to circumstance. If we were imprisoned by circumstance, we would not need the Holy Scriptures to reveal to us how we ought to live. We would simply walk out our existence knowing there was nothing we could do about our circumstances.
By giving us a will, The Heavenly Father did not sanction destructive works. He put laws into place to assure order and overall equilibrium. You may use your will to attempt to defy the law of gravity and jump off a building. The law will prevail unless The Father has specifically shown you how to supercede this structural law. He will not provide the revelation unless it is to promote the Kingdom of God. Your will is to promote your life and living, not to sanction death and destruction. We are told to chose life (Deut 30:19 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;). The Lord God Almighty "commands" us not "controls" us. He has given us gifts and callings that will sustain our life and allow us to bring forth good fruit. Our rights are connected with our calling and our gifts. As our will aligns with The Father’s will, our fruitfulness will increase. As we develop in our gifts and calling, doors will be opened that are otherwise shut. Listen, obey, and walk accordingly! As you walk in love, you will be able to exercise your rights granted by The Father to complete your calling.