Do I Deserve It?

If you know the Barron's at all, you know that "entitlement" is a word we use in our house quite often. After all, we do have four children.....and two adults. I was reminded the other day that I can tend to fall into the "I deserve it" trap just like my kids. In our house, turning 16 doesn't entitle you to a driver's license. Poor spending doesn't entitle you to more allowance. Good grades don't entitle you to slacking off. Cell phones still belong to mom and dad, but we choose to share them. Geez, the attitude of kids these days, but what about us adults?

The verse that turned the focus on myself was Isaiah 45:7, "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things." After reading and processing that verse, I was reminded of my years of a failed marriage. Obviously, life is sprinkled with both good and bad experiences. Both are needed for us to grow. It is hard to digest that "I, the Lord do all these things". That can easily make us a little upset with God, but then I was reminded that He is always right there...loving and watching us.

I want nothing more than to teach my kids to be grateful for cell phones or the opportunities that we, as parents, give them. I want them to appreciate that I desire for them to be healthy and Hostess twinkies aren't going to help them live longer. I long for them to walk in the door and notice their clean sheets or that the pink ring in the toilet is gone. I would love to hear them thank their daddy for working so hard for his family. However, there are more days where they walk in and add to our "to do list" right off the bat. Gimme, gimme, gimme!

So, flip the magnifying glass on Lisa, and my Daddy, Jesus probably has His hands on his hips frustrated at MY "Gimme's". I am entitled to nothing. He died for me so I could live an eternal life in heaven with Him. That should be enough. I am not entitled to every bill getting paid on time, all the latest fashions with cute shoes, a massage every Thursday or freshly painted fingernails to look pretty as I flip through my Bible. This life of faith is not performance based. None of us can ever be good enough to be trouble free. That's not the deal. I am not entitled to be loved by every person that walks in my church. I am not entitled to pass every mammogram with flying colors. I am not entitled to have my family and friends alive forever. I am not entitled to be free from heart ache. I am not entitled to have perfect children. I am not entitled to always be in a warm house when it is freezing outside. I am not entitled to do ministry work and because it's about Jesus, it will be easy.

The only entitlement we have is that God is always with us and watching. When we hurt, He hurts. When we grieve, He grieves. When we rejoice and celebrate, He celebrates. I love every single one of my kids. I can't fix all of their hurts or protect them from everything, but I can be here for them and love them through it. Why do we expect anything different from our Heavenly Father? We may not always understand what He is up to, but I can't imagine trusting anything else.

If we must be entitled to something, then let's be entitled to being grateful and live appreciatively. He doesn't have to give us anything good at all, but He does. Thank Him!