Right Of Admission Reserved

Right of Admission Reserved

Matthew 25:31-46

We are bombarded daily with different offers: discounts on this, free offers on that, last chance to get your copy of the other. So many of these unbelievable offers are just that – unbelievable.

Even the genuine offers come with fine print at the bottom, sometimes saying: Terms and Conditions apply. And sometimes those Ts&Cs are so out of reach that they make the offer onerous and beyond our reach.

Another restriction we sometimes encounter is ‘Right of Admission Reserved’. It might be an age restriction, gender restriction, or, in the dark days of Apartheid in South Africa – a race restriction. Sometimes it might be as simple as no entry if wearing shorts and sandals – Right of Admission reserved.

Who owns the right to restrict admission to a facility or venue? It would be reasonable to think that the owner or operator of a facility or establishment would have the right to set conditions for persons entering the premises or using the facilities. After all, the owner has conceptualised offering a service or convenience for the use of the community. The owner has invested time and human resources to get the facility up and running. The proprietor has ensured that all the statutory and legal requirements have been met.

Interestingly, we accept that the owner or operator of a service has the right to determine the activity and actions of those who utilise the facility. Yet, society objects to being told how to behave or what is appropriate or having to adhere to notices and signs such as no parking in a parking bay for the disabled, no talking in a library, or no eating in an Uber. We claim it’s our right; we are entitled to behave however we choose.

We see this in children where the famous question is asked, ‘But why?’. Later it becomes a challenge to the parent's authority when the teenager does something just because they were told not to. And before the adults nod their heads and click their tongues, don’t we sometimes find ourselves on an empty road with a powerful car, and we say, “the road is clear; this car is comfortable at 150 km/h . . .” and we press that accelerator a little bit closer to the floor?

As humans, we seem wired to go against the instructions of authority. The western culture that shapes our thinking teaches us to be critical, independent thinkers, and decide for ourselves. While this philosophy has its place, do we not sometimes take it beyond making wise choices, weighing up the pros and cons of a situation, and conducting a risk/benefit analysis when confronted with a dilemma? Is the danger not that, in our individualistic society, we run the risk of everyone doing what is right in their own eyes?

It reminds me of Eve faced with the choice when confronted with the question, ‘Did God actually instruct you not to eat of any of the trees in the garden?’. Eve correctly answers that God did not restrict them from eating from all the trees but only from the tree in front of which she was standing. And there begins the slippery slope of questioning the credentials of the Creator, the Owner, the Proprietor. Gen 3:6 says, ‘So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…’ God, the Ultimate Authority, says, but I, the creation, think… God, the Creator, Originator of Life, Provider of sustenance and Ruler of the Universe, the Essence of Love, directs us on a path of ultimate victory and eternal life is matched up against the word of a slithering, slinking, sardonic, sassy, self-serving serpent – the embodiment of Satan himself. And what does Eve do? ‘She took of its fruit and ate…’

When Moses was confronted with the instruction not to strike the rock, his temper got the better of him. So he hit the rock arising from his anger against the people, contrary to God’s word.

When Saul was confronted with the instruction not to take the spoils of battle, he went against the prophet's instruction, blaming his choice on peer pressure – it was the people.

When confronted with the response of Christ to the question, what must I do to be saved, the rich young ruler went away sorrowful because the counsel of the Creator Messiah went against his choices and priorities – for he had much wealth.

Solomon said, ‘There is a way that seems right to us, but the end – nothing good will come of it. On the contrary, it leads to destruction – self-destruction.