Spouse and I were vegetating through the movie Rocky 3 the other night – don’t ask me why – when an ingenious quote I’d forgotten slid from the lips of the immortal fighter Rocky Balboa and stopped me in my tracks. (Yo, why hasn’t anybody ever written a book called, “Everything I Know, I Learned from Rocky”?)
In this scene, Rocky was verbally sparring with his inebriated, tactless, clueless galoot of a brother-in-law, Paulie, about Paulie’s paralyzing sense of entitlement. About how he wasn’t at fault for losing his job or the myriad of other misfortunes that befell him because the world owed him fame, fortune, and respect just for being Paulie. His employer owed him, Uncle Sam owed him, his friends owed him (presumably for gracing them with his presence), and most of all, Rocky owed him.
Big time.
Rocky, of course, took issue with Paulie’s self-centric POV, and responded in a seldomly used raised voice, “Friends don’t owe you nothin’. They do because they wanna do.” (Read that quote again – aloud – only this time in Rocky’s distinctive caveman accent. C’mon … we both know you can hear it in your head.)
Whoa. What a life strategy: Do because you wanna do. Not because you think you must. Straight from the Sly philosophy handbook.
I think this little piece of homespun wisdom struck me so bluntly because recently I’ve been pondering my own warped expectations of the entitlement that I secretly feel I deserve as a child of the Omnipotent God. (Remember, omnipotent means “all powerful,” as in there’s nothing He can’t do.)
My exploration of the Bible assures me I am loved beyond measure, and that as a believer, my Master and Savior wants to give me good things. But nothing anywhere says I deserve customized favors or that He’s obligated to shower me with extra blessings because I’m so spit-shiny special.
Now that’s not to say that Papa God doesn’t give us, His children who are devoted to Him, customized favors and extra blessings from time to time. He definitely does. But He doesn’t have to. It’s not part of the Christ-following download. He does because he wants to do, not because it’s required, or expected, or contracted. Our beloved-child position in Papa God’s adopted family doesn’t mean … as much as we wish it did … that we’re shoe-ins for all good things in all circumstances at all times.
Blessings are not our right. They’re our privilege.
Because God is God. Only He decides when and where and who and how to mete out blessings. and we are not privy to His reasoning process.
He owes us nothing. He’s already given us life … and eternal life when we choose to believe in and serve Him. He loves us well and generously gives to us, but is in NO WAY obliged to do so.
The biblical example of Ruth comes to mind, a stranger in a foreign land, going out to grub leftover barley in the fields, knowing she didn’t deserve any favor at all, yet receiving more divine blessings than she could shake a stick at in the form of all the food she could carry, a blanket invitation for more, and an unexpected wealthy husband in the making. If someone had asked why, I suspect Almighty God would’ve shrugged and said, “I do because I wanna do.”
Same with the disciples after fishing all night with zero yield and suddenly when they saw Jesus, their nets were bursting with fish. Jesus did because he wanted to do.
Same with Old Testament Sarah and later Hannah, and New Testament Elizabeth, who were all epic fail mama-wannabes way past child-bearing age when the pink plus sign miraculously appeared on their pregnancy tests. A blessing they had no doubt already given up on. Yet Yahweh must’ve muttered, “Hey, I do because I wanna do.”
So to apply this startling revelation to ourselves, there’s nothing wrong with praying for Papa God’s favor in situations that you know only a miracle could salvage. He’s in the miracle business, after all. But if He chooses not to do the miracle, if He, for reasons only He knows, decides this is not the time or place for an extra blessing, we must be willing to accept the answer “no” without chunking our fragile faith in the trashcan.
As the Creator of the Universe, He’s allowed to do simply because He wants to do. And it’s our responsibility as His devoted children maturing in our faith to respectfully accept His do or not do and realize that in the end, it’s His will – not ours – that counts.
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king … Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us … but even if He does not, let it be known …. that we are not going to serve your gods” (Daniel 3:16-18 NASB).
P.S. Please don’t forget to help me out and if you’ve already ordered either set of scripture cards, companions to my newest devotional Bless Your Heart, take a moment and leave a review on Amazon.com. If you want to order these little blessings for yourself or your girlies, they’re only $4.99 per box of 52 and are called Bless Your Heart: 52 Ways to Bless My BFFs, and Bless Your Heart: 52 Ways to Bless Your Heart for Couples. As always, thanks for your support!