“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” – Ephesians 2:8
When my kids were little, I worked a long way from their elementary school, but occasionally I would make the trek and pick them up after school. I loved those days because my kids were sweet and they loved me and wanted to be with me. And because me picking them up was so rare in that season of life, I tried really hard to make those days extra special.
To me, it did not matter that my kids were really small. Even though they were tiny, I would take them to Sonic and I would order them the biggest drink on the menu (the 44-ounce size) of whatever they wanted. Soda, slushy, milkshake, whatever. I didn’t even care. My goal as a dad was to put my kids in a sugar coma before we made it back to mom…and you know what? My kids, as you can imagine, absolutely loved it.
They used to sit in the back seat and just gush. They’d say, “Oh thank you daddy so much. We love you so much. Thank you for blessing us and blah blah blah…” They were so grateful that I was blessing them in the way that I did.
But fast forward a few months to another day when I picked them up for school and I was in a hurry that day (running late). So I picked them up from school, expecting to hear “Hi daddy” from one of my sweet kids, but instead all I hear is “You’re late. Take us to Sonic!”
It was no longer thank you for this unexpected blessing. Now it was, “give me what I expect and what I deserve.” And the reality is, for many of us, that is exactly how we act with God. God has blessed us so much, and after a while, we can feel entitled to those blessings.
That is a perfect picture of pride, pride declaring that “I’m entitled to something better… I’m entitled to an answer, I’m entitled to a promotion, and I’m worthy of recognition and accolades.”
And you know what? God may be ready to bless you with something special, but if we come to Him with a spirit of pride and entitlement, we just might miss what God wanted to give us. Don’t miss it, my friend! Be grateful for the gifts only God can give, and remember we are not entitled or deserving of any of it!