Have you ever said, I don't deserve this, but secretly thought you did? And what exactly DO we deserve?<.small>
This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday quick write hosted by Kate Moutang. Join us each Thursday night on Twitter (#FMFParty) for fun and fellowship, then grab a pen and start writing when the prompt goes live!
A Slice of Heaven
"I don't deserve this!" I looked around at the stunning falls rushing over rocks nestled in a lush green hillside. Huge, craggy mountain peaks rose out of the same thick greenery.
Eira blinked.
"I mean, I really don't deserve this. It looks like heaven." Wild purple geraniums and snowy-white yarrow spotted the hillside. A hoary marmot screeched a warning and scampered back under a boulder.
Eira wagged her tail.
I have an easy, comfortable life. A job I love, a family who loves me, freedom to worship as I please, and excellent medical insurance. Insurance which made this hike possible on this glorious day in Alaska. Recovering from ankle surgery three months earlier had worn me thin, but now I had returned to the trails and had beautiful scenery spread out before me.
But I really don't deserve this comfortable life. If I had come into the world in a different country, born to different parents, my life would have turned out so differently. What if I hadn't shared the same skin color as the people with plush pocket who wielded power? Would I stand on a mountainside enjoying a taste of heaven?
Probably not. Like most of the privileged in America, I often forget I don't deserve what I have. I fail to use my privilege to help those who get marginalized, forgotten, trod on, and misunderstood.
But Jesus told us to look out for the least—especially if we have the most. I don't have deep pockets like Bill Gates, or even those 'middle-class Americans' that regularly spend $15,000 on their summer vacations. But I can afford a plane ticket to Alaska. I have more than 90% of the world's population has.
We Don't Deserve it, Either
And we did nothing to deserve such wealth. We don't have it because God thinks more highly of us than someone from another country. But God does have high hopes for us. The least we can do for the least of these is to listen with compassion.
If someone tells us they feel misunderstand, believe her. When someone says they live in fear, don't ask, "What do you have to be afraid of?" Ask how you can help. If a mother in front of you struggles to quiet her screaming toddler while she pays for her groceries with food offer a compassionate smile. Let her know you see her.
I don't deserve the comfortable lives I live, but all too often I fail to invite anyone else in.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Romans 12:3 NIV
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