I had a conversation with a good friend today in which he honestly confessed to having been convicted of being self-centered. My friend is not a new Christian and has been a blessing to many people, but God had pointed out to him how 'entitled' he felt at times. He admitted that when those feelings of entitlement came up they sometimes led him to feel real anger and get self-righteous toward others. It made him sick to realize that this had been part of his Christian life for so long and had been unrecognized. I salute him for his candor and his desire to turn a corner in his walk with the Lord.
I learned the hard way about feeling entitled, too. God had to confront me after a period of significant struggle and show me that the real problem was not how others were or were not treating me, but my self-centered attitude that made me feel entitled to certain treatment. How sad. And how good God was to show me my fault.
The writer of Hebrews said,
“MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” (Hebrews 12:5-6, NAS)
He goes on to observe,
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it,
afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12:11, NAS)
The painful corrections of life come from the hand of a loving Father whose goal is to make us better people and more like his Son, Christ.
If you've had some hard lessons dealt out to you recently, thank God that he loves you and in his grace is trying to correct you. If you aren't thankful for it now, you will be some day.
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