functions

entitlement works a lot like a mathematical function. you have a certain input or effort and automatically jump to the assumption that a specific outcome will be the result. study a certain amount of hours and expect to receive a specific grade. work a certain amount of hours and expect to receive a specific wage. in some cases, these things are just functions, but sometimes we project these expectations on things that are not functions. human relationships, life circumstances, and our spirituality are just a few examples of where we do this. how many times have we so foolishly thought to ourselves things like "i treated this person kindly, and therefore i should be treated kindly" or "i took all of the right steps in life. why is this bad event happening to me then?" or "i'm serving in church, i'm reading the bible everyday, and praying all the time, but my relationship with God is not good"? it is when we start thinking in these ways that we are thinking like the world.

the world tells us that we deserve rewards for our efforts and defines anything that doesn't meet that standard as unfair. "it is an injustice to not get what you want!" the world screams with its fists in the air. and these ideas are so well-disguised. we have even managed to get the golden rule wrong at times. Christ says "so whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them" and we sometimes add "so that ___" (fill in the blank with personal benefits other then "God may be glorified") missing the principle.

but we know that the message of the gospel is essentially the inverse of what the world tells us to believe in. and this is perhaps why the gospel so often offends us in two ways in relation to our feelings of entitlement:
1) the gospel tells us that it doesn't matter how good we believe ourselves to be, because our works are like dirty rags. we are not saved by works, but by grace and we don't deserve it 
2) when we are faced with difficulty or inconvenience in our lives, we feel as if we deserve a better situation. the gospel reveals to us the gravity of our sin and rebellion against God and how we deserve so much worse

pastor pat preached on this topic earlier this week and the passage he preached from was matthew 20:1-16 (the parable of the laborers in the vineyard) link to sermon here. and while he was speaking, i was thinking about romans 6:23, which says "for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." when we begin to think like the world, we desperately need this sobering truth. what we have earned for our unrighteousness and the wage that we are entitled to is death. but praise be to God that He has shown us mercy.

looking back at the golden rule, i am convinced to say not only "treat others as you would want to be treated," but also "treat others as you have been treated." realize that you have been pardoned in the most significant way possible. you have been forgiven, and not just forgiven, but graciously invited into relationship with God. i think we can get into this mode where we get over our feelings of entitlement, but we stop there instead of going on to find God's purpose in those very situations that brought us to feel entitled. if we did that more often, we would see that all of those "bad" situations are truly blessings for our good and that it is all grace.
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this quarter, i have a few goals!
1) have a decent conversation with my roommate
2) work on "the playbook"- my game journal! i hope to record at least a couple games in there by the end of finals week.
3) finish reading "spectacular sins" by john piper
4) read through matthew, mark, luke, and john! i'm starting mark tonight!
5) keep up with exercise 5 days per week. last quarter i got lazy and sluggish