Michael King Jr., born on Jan. 15, 1929, changed the world. He didn't spew hate and anger against his oppressors and opponents. As his life's calling, he consistently and strongly made the argument for God-given equal rights that were not possessed by a very large population of people, simply due to the color of their skin.
A few years after his son's birth, Michael King Sr. changed both his name and his son's name to honor the great 16th-century Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, who taught salvation from God was a gift of grace, not works, and that man's access to God was direct and for all, not just those with means, money or a merit awarded by an institution.
How fitting. Martin Luther King Jr. fulfilled his name's change to reflect his divine calling: to establish the God-given rights that exist for all, rights that transcend the enumeration of any man-made organization or establishment.
Robin SmithToday, prejudice and discrimination still exist not because of failed institutions but because the hearts of some men and women miss the "God-given" aspect of those rights. Those are the rights that transcend personal wealth, status, notoriety, celebrity, merit or existence as government-sanctioned. God-given rights transcend civil rights, which are awarded and enforced by the state. God-given rights exist as a function of a Creator who fashioned humanity in his image and gave it worth, life and purpose that far exceed the confines and jurisdictions of government. Simply, God-given rights are innate; they are not acquired and can never be manufactured.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. understood those facts clearly. God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as specified in the Declaration of Independence, are rights that are not only inborn but should never be in jeopardy among a people who are both civil and moral. Yet, herein lies the problem. Some want the state to assume the role of a deity in assigning rights that already exist or conjuring up other rights that are politically driven.
Dr. King's speeches, marches and the entirety of his work were rooted in foundational truths that man should not be able to deny that which man did not assign. Man did not and does not assign the value of life. Man did not determine the race of an individual. Life is God-breathed and given. So, the value of an individual is vast, but its ability to appreciate and depreciate are driven by man-made factors, application and stewardship.
Today's culture applauds hate, brashness, name-calling, insults, achievement at the expense of others, exploitation, immodesty and even license to be indecent. There's nothing about this wrong-headed approach that adds value. Sadly, it rewards the bullies, bullhorns and bombast that displace the dignity of those working to be self-reliant, decent members of a community devoted to their faith, family and freedom.
Yes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is justifiably renowned for his fight for racial equality. Yet, his work speaks to so much more than just skin color. King's timeless aspiration and his "dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" should remind us all on this M.L. King Day to be honest brokers of truths that, if acknowledged, solve so many of today's ills.
No man-made institution can give life value. No establishment can tend the garden of one's life to develop one's character. Keep Dr. King's legacy alive and celebrate our God-given rights.
Robin Smith, a former chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, owns Rivers Edge Alliance.