It’s very interesting to me to see that people are so concerned with “rights”. It’s almost as if we’ve decided to turn out back on what we have and focus on what we don’t.
The person who is concerned with their rights, is by very nature a pessimist and always sees the glass as half-empty.
No I’m not talking about human trafficking or equality. I’m talking about the more day to day concern with ones rights. I’m talking about people concerned with what they “deserve”.
The focus on getting what you deserve or what’s “yours” also has a flip side. These people are concerned with others not getting with they deserve as well. The one who says: “I’m not getting what I deserve” also says “I can’t believe they got away with that…”
I believe most sin starts with this idea that “I deserve this pleasure, it’s not hurting anyone else, and I can do it without any real consequences”
The sinner starts listing out all the thoughts and ideas about why they deserve the immediate pleasure of sin. Things like:
- I’ve had a hard day
- I’ve experienced a kind of tragedy
- I’m too tired
- I’m depressed
- I’ve worked hard long enough
- Or some other general bad thing has happened to me
I caution you, that when bad things are happening in your life – be alert! You are at a vulnerable point. (Of course the same is true when things are going really well too) If you find yourself start justifying simply because of the bad things about your current situation, you are headed for a downward winding staircase.
You’ll say that you’re having a bad day. You turn to sin to “feel better”. Then when it leaves you empty, you turn to more sin and start binging. All because you thought: “I deserve a little ‘pick me up’”
The question to ask yourself is this…
When things are going bad – who or what do I turn to?
Your god is whatever your answer is.
It’s interesting in this self-sufficient world we live in that we allow ourselves to think that it’s a bad thing to turn to God in our troubles. We think we need to “handle” things on our own. We need to “man up”, buckle down and fix our problems ourselves. But Jesus says:
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
