I Deserve

 Ever since Jon Acuff posted this article on entitlement, I’ve been spotting some of the entitlement in my life. In just five minutes after reading it, I was frustrated that Netflix had logged me out again, I was angry that Blogger had messed up my article format, I was mad at my laptop for becoming so hot on my lap. Look at that. Rather than complaining about the little annoyances and things that don’t matter, I should be praising God for all that I have. Rather than “Why does Netflix keep logging me out?! Ugh. This is so stupid. And look at my articles on Blogger! What in the world?! Ouch. Stupid laptop, burning my legs.” I should be saying, “Netflix logged me out again. Interesting. Thank You, God for allowing me the ability to relax here and watch videos that I enjoy. Look, my Blogger article is messed up. Well, I’ll just fix that. Thank You, Lord, for giving me such a means to spread Your word. No other generation has had the ability to reach the whole world so easily. My laptop is getting hot, but thanks for a laptop. Not many people can afford something as nice as this. Thank You for blessing me and my family.” Look at the difference!

This makes me think of Job. Job was very wealthy and had much to thank God for. And thank God, he did; Job offered many sacrifices to the Lord and praised Him. But in Job 1:13-18, he lost practically everything he had, even his children. And you know what he did? He didn’t stand on a mountain and demand to talk to God about why his family had suddenly died or why his camels were all gone. No. Job PRAISED. In verse 20, Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Amazing!  This continued. Job continued to praise God; he cursed the day of his birth, but he never said to God, “I deserve better!” In fact, in Job 9, he specifically said, “How then can I dispute with him (God)? How can I find words to argue with him? Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.” Job had no sense of entitlement. No sense of “I deserve a good life so give it to me.” No. Job accepted what God gave him, both the good and the bad. This is what we need to do.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

God provides what we need; He doesn’t give us what we deserve, because that is death. So this entitlement we have so often is idiotic. It’s more than idiotic, but I can’t find a better word right now. We deserve death, but we were given life! Amazing. Because of that, I’ve been praying desperately and trying hard to shed my feelings of entitlement, and to live praising and thanking God every moment for every little thing.