There are some words we use on a daily basis and toss around freely and carelessly in conversation without giving them any real intentional consideration. We frequently converse with such a cruising speed that we don’t put much thought into the 16,000 words that we speak on an average day. According to Wikipedia, some of the most commonly used words (other than the obvious small words such as “the”, “a”, and “is”) are “problem”, “have”, “want”, and “time”. Yet, there is one highly dangerous word that does not make the top 100 list, yet I have found myself not only hearing it but also saying it more and more over the last number of years. At face value this word is nothing more than a subtle action or linking verb used within the English language. But this is where God is so awesome, because with Him nothing is simply just face value, but often instead He peels back the layers to reveal so much more.
While talking to a friend the other day, I caught myself using this common word without even noticing. I was discussing something that I was currently struggling with when the word so easily slid off my careless tongue, “I deserve more than that.” Then as though piercing through the stormy wind, an inner voice came bellowing through “DESERVE, but who says?” I quickly quieted down this unempathetic voice and moved on.
But here I was, once again sitting in adoration, having a heart to heart with my buddy Jesus when I found myself complaining about one of my crosses that I didn’t feel like picking up and carrying upon my back. I was justifying it all to my good God, explaining that I “DO NOT deserve that” when suddenly I was pierced with an awareness of this sense once again of “but who says?”. The Webster dictionary defines the verb form of deserve as the following “to earn by service; to be worthy of (something due, either good or evil); to merit; to be entitled to;”
As I explored this word more deeply it became so clear that DESERVE is a very dangerous word. A word that we so strongly convict ourselves of, then in turn fiercely fight many battles on the simple claim that we do or do not deserve something. We start making claims of what we are entitled to, what we have merited, or what we are worthy of. Yet, though this may be the way of the world, it is certainly not the way of our Lord. Through the incarnation, God became man and set before us a path to follow. We are called to follow in the footsteps of the Son of God himself. St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us.” Christ gave us the example of the prodigal son, who by all worldly standards, certainly did not deserve his father’s mercy and gracious joy. Or how about the day laborers who joined the workforce late yet received the same daily wages as their fellow workers who had worked many more hours than them. Did they deserve an equal pay? Once again, by worldly standards the answer would be absolutely no. But this is PRECISELY why our Lord came down and spoke in such parables, in order to crush all worldly expectations and to teach us a thing or two about breaking down the walls of “merit”, “earned”,or “worthiness.”
Yet, even after hearing these infamous lessons spoken by God himself, we can become so inward facing, comparison driven, and entitled obsessed that we begin to believe that what we do or don’t deserve is as simple 1+1=2. But folks, truth of the matter is we are all unworthy and all undeserving. But God doesn’t work by our worldly standards. God, whose mercy is endless and our entitlement nothing, often leaves us perplexed when His math looks like 9+3=142. Yet, as Amanda Jenkins recently just said “God is a god of impossible math”. Once we realize this we can slowly begin to realize how dangerous the word DESERVE really is. It centers our focus on fairness, and worthiness, and in turn rejects God impossible math of mercy and compassion. We don’t deserve Gods infinite mercy, but He pours it out anyways. We don’t deserve to be forgiven and saved, yet He came to rescue us. We certainly do not deserve to be children of the King of universe, yet He ceaselessly claims us as HIS beloveds.
God tells us through the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2:21 that “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” I’ll ask you, from a worldly sense did Christ deserve to be scourged and tormented? Did Christ deserve to be betrayed and crucified? Certainly not, but this was His way.
So the next time we find ourselves so easily staking our claim to what we do or do not deserve, let’s reflect on Christ’s example, remember the dangers of this sentiment, and realize that in fact we do not deserve anything. Yet, through Christ himself we have gained everything!
