Recently, the CEO of whole foods was "alleged" to have said that Health Insurance is not an intrinsic right. As can be expected, many people, especially on the political left, was infurierated by this "alleged" statement.

This situation made me reflect on the question of intrinsic rights. Are there really intrinsic human rights? Is human rights just a societal construct, and that humans don't have rights in themselves? This question generates a long philosophical and theological discussion. 

I would just present an observation. If there are such a thing as intrinsic rights, does that mean that the human obligation ends at granting those rights? Can we wash our hands and say that we have done our duty if, for example, everyone has health insurance?

I believe that our human obligation is deeper than granting human rights, whatever those are. In the Judeo-Christian tradition which I stand, there is a command to Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  Maybe guaranteeing health insurance is an expression of love or maybe not. There is a verse in scripture that says "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3). 

This verse clearly distinguishes charity work and love. A person who is responsive to others' needs, therefore, is not necessarily a loving peson. I believe that the essence of love is to treat others as an end in themselves, not as a means to an end. This means treating others well whether they can give us something back or not.

People who advocate for human rights should humbly acknowledge that their advocacy does not fulfill the command to love, therefore showing the need for repentance and forgiveness. The same advocate for human rights could be sexually promiscuous, which usually indicates that his love for others is predicated by the pleasure they can give him. How can somebody possess another person, presumably giving himself to the other, and then discard that person when she does not fulfill his needs anymore? His advocacy for human rights gains him nothing in the long run.