Tuesday after supper, Ruby and I were chatting about feeling entitled and deserving — an at-home follow-up to the pastor’s theme Sunday morning. She had raised the subject, wondering what I would say on the subject of entitlement.
Then later in the evening as I did the second of my twice daily ear-diaper changes, I got to thinking about the subject of bitterness since it comes up in today’s printed text (for our adult Sunday School lesson).
I thought about things that provoke in me a rising of bitterness. It easily happens when…
- I am treated unjustly.
- I am lied about.
- I am subjected to treachery.
I suppose if I didn’t believe I am entitled to something different, I wouldn’t be prone to trip into bitterness. So I resist the evil of bitterness because it is neither helpful nor healthful. And because it is not Christ-like. And because it is a disposition that will defile others.
Like morning glory in a garden, even a very small root of bitterness will push up a sprout that will prosper and replicate. And it will eventually dominate the garden and strangle any good plants in it.
[Mostly written the night of Tuesday, August 15, 2023 — a week after my entitlement conversation with my wife.]
Remember: Any “lumps” you get actually are less than you deserve.
It isn’t even merely to complain or accuse.
To rail can be those, if they are driven home with certain tones, attitudes, and dispositions.
I choose God-awareness instead of entitlement and bitterness.
I further shift my focus by choosing gratefulness and a humble sense of unworthiness.
Instead of bitterness-inducing entitlement, better to live life giving God what He is entitled to from me.
Then I will be stable, not entitled and bitter.
