I'm serious. People today have far too great sense of entitlement, and it bothers me greatly. Have we become so utterly spoiled that we gripe and complain about the smallest thing imaginable? Nothing drives me up the wall faster than someone complaining to me that the slightest inconvenience is a major annoyance. So what if that Blu-Ray player is 20 dollars more than you expected?
Do you really need it?
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a mass shift toward asceticism, but this is getting a little bit ridiculous. I own an iPhone. It's only a 3G, but it works (quite well, in fact) and I'm happy with it. When the iPhone 4G released, I could barely contain my irritation at people who owned PERFECTLY GOOD PHONES who simply HAD to upgrade. Am I the only one that feels that this is a waste of perfectly good money?
What really gets to me are the justifications that I've heard used. One in particular: "I'm worth it."
I believe that each and every human being is created in the image of God, and is valuable and worthy of love and compassion. I also believe that when someone uses the justification "I'm worth it" then they most certainly are not. I know that sounds cynical, but let me explain. None of us needs any of this extra fluff that life seems to center itself on these days. We don't need computers, HDTVs, cable, cell phones, video games, or flashy cars. Much of what we claim to need, we really don't. We're either ALL worth it, or none of us is. Since when has someone intrinsically been worth a luxury? So why do we claim to need it so badly?
Because we want it.
Desire is a powerful motivator, and somewhere down the line some parent forgot to respond to a toddler's whining of "I need it" with "No. You don't." Now we have teenagers (who are the worst of this lot, but by no means the ONLY subset who are guilty of this) and young adults who look at the world feeling that they need everything they desire.
You want to know what I need? Not much.
Don't for a minute presume that I think I'm better than these people simply because I haven't succumbed to the trap of mistaking want for need. I am most definitely NOT. I've simply had a bit louder of a wake-up call than most. Back in March of this year (2010), I was diagnosed with cancer.
Mr. Hayes, please pick up the red courtesy phone - I have reality on the line, and he'd like a word with you.
If you've never had a major health scare, then I have news for you. They strip you down to the core of who you are. A lot of who you pretend to be from day to day (don't give me that self-righteous attitude, we ALL do it) completely disappears. You are no longer what you want, simply what you need. And usually, what we need is extremely basic: food, shelter, comfort. I learned the hard way that all the stuff I enjoyed having - computers, video games, etc - are entirely unnecessary.
Usually, when confronted with the simplicity of what's actually necessary in life, people tend to break down. Whether the one inspires the other or vice versa, I'm not sure, but the two seem to coincide more often than not. I personally think this is a good thing. We humans are so self-centered that we neglect to call upon our Creator until we've reached the nadir of existence (or at least, what we consider to be our lowest point).
How sad.
The grace of God is so quickly tossed aside for the things we feel we deserve. Have we as a people reached the point where we not only assume we deserve His grace, but we take it entirely for granted? I pray that we haven't, but I suspect we have.
Living from day to day, with only your needs in mind is an incredible way to rediscover how much He loves us and cares for us. That we as a people are so blessed to enjoy luxuries and live on more than simply necessities (as a whole - I know there are those who don't) is an indication that God's plan and desire for us is a good one that includes our happiness and well being. This doesn't mean that we're guaranteed happiness, and it definitely doesn't mean we're not going to suffer. However, on the other side of suffering is usually reward.
I definitely don't feel worthy of or entitled to this sort of love. And therein lies the nature of grace. That He would extend this to me, when I don't deserve it, can only be described in one way:
Awesome.
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