Good morning,
One of the most ancient and powerful ideas that has been used against the God of creation is that we are entitled to be treated the way we want to be treated. This conviction of entitlement first showed up in a beautiful and powerful being who stopped looking at God as his leader and began seeing him as his enemy. In Isaiah 14, Lucifer (O shining star, son of the morning) is quoted again and again as saying “I will” Satan was determined that no one was going to tell him what to do. Life was going to be lived by his rules, not God’s. In every generation since Adam and Eve, that same attitude has been the basis of everything that Satan has tried to develop in those who have been poisoned by sin. Now it’s our turn to face this powerful conviction hard wired into our sinful hearts. This driving force is built into every culture on earth. Our hearts tell us that rules, limits and guidelines are made to be broken. We believe that what we want is always what’s best for us.
Becoming one of God’s kids doesn’t mean that we now have overcome this deep seated sense of entitlement. If we are paid to be good (Christian professionals) or ordinary Believers, we still have a deep down sense that we have the right to expect respect, fair treatment, reward, and encouragement for what we do. Paul, when writing to the Christians in Rome, reminded them that if they were really lovers of God, they would have a whole different outlook on life. Rather than demand anything, he encouraged them to think of living a life that would lead to them losing everything. He assured them that if they were really going to worship God, they needed to look at the difficulties of life as the adventures that came with living by faith. Paul urges all of us to look at obedience to God as the least we could do because of all that he had done for us. If we lose our job, our reputation, our comfort and even our life because we were doing what we were told to do, so be it. If our Heavenly Father and Jesus our Savior were willing to pay the full price for our sins on a cruel cross, how can we who love him still feel that he owes us something? Dear Lord, please help us to be willing sacrifices and not demanding, spoiled brats.
Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Roy Wisner
