Becoming a Disciple - Week 4, Day 1

A Brand-New Car, I Deserve It (Selfishness)

At 9:30 AM, I’m standing in front of a camera giving the photographer a mean look, and getting my picture taken for my driver’s license. Talk about a proud moment. I couldn’t wait to get home and call all of my friends, and I couldn’t wait to see the car my parents had bought me for being such a great son. What’s that? A car? Sure. Doesn’t every 16-year-old kid get a car from their parents on their birthday? What do you mean, no?! You deserve it, don’t you? Think about all the income you bring into the house, all the chores you do without being asked over and over again. I mean, every 16-year-old is a grateful, loving family member who deserves to be in a beautiful brand new car. I mean, let’s get honest here, your parents owe it to you. Well, that’s what I thought.

I drove home from the driver’s test, sure that my brand new car would be waiting for me in the driveway. The only problem was when I got home; there was no new car to be found. In fact, no car at all was to be found. I looked at my mom with this stunned look on my face and said, “Mom, where’s my birthday presents?!” She looked at me with a grin on her face and said, “Todd, you know we have to wait for your father to come home from work.”

The rest of the day dragged by slower than the last hour of school right before Christmas vacation. I couldn’t wait for my dad to come home. Finally, 5:30 PM came, and down the drive came my dear old dad. I ran out to meet him and gave him a big hug. The last time I had run out to meet my dad after a day’s work was when I was eight years old. I figured if I buttered the old guy up, he might feel guilty about the car he bought me, and he would go and exchange the car for a Porsche or a Ferrari. We walked up the steps, got cleaned up, had dinner, and finally, the moment had come, the opening of the presents.

Now, I’m going to be perfectly honest with you. I don’t remember a thing I received on my 16th birthday. I just remember ripping into each package, hoping to find a set of car keys. There was none to be found. I walked out of the front room, dejected and hurt. How could my parents have done this to me? Didn’t they love me? Didn’t they care about my needs? I walked back into the front room and told my parents how disappointed I was. I told them how I felt like I deserved a new car and that I couldn’t believe how selfish they were being.

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Man, Todd, you were a real jerk. You didn’t deserve a new car or a used one, for that matter. You are a selfish, spoiled brat.” That’s pretty accurate. I was treating my parents like trash. But don’t start pointing your finger at me; don’t you do the same thing in your relationship with God? What are you talking about, Todd?

Have you ever asked God, “why me?” Have you ever thought that life wasn’t going the way you planned it, and you couldn’t understand how He could be so loving and kind and yet not help you out with a few things you need? Haven’t you ever told God that life’s not fair and sometimes hurts more than you can stand? God, why don’t you take away the pain and the ones who are causing it?

HAVE YOU EVER TOLD GOD YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN WHAT YOU’VE GOT?

If we were all honest, we would all admit that we are kind of like spoiled little kids—upset if we don’t get what we want and not thankful for the things that have been given to us. I crushed my parents that day with my selfishness. How could I be so foolish to go to my parents, the ones who had worked, slaved, and sacrificed for me all my life, and tell them that I’m disappointed because they didn’t get me a car? Sounds too crazy. It also sounds too true.

How can we go to a loving God, the one who has made the world and everything in it, the one who has given and given, even to the point of sacrificing His Son on a cross, and look at Him with our lives and say, “It’s not fair! I’m disappointed! I deserve better!”? How quickly we forget that our very lives are a gift from God. Without Him, we don’t even exist. What we deserve, according to Romans 6:23, is death. Eternal separation from God in hell. If we ever receive one good thing from God, remember this: It’s more than we deserve.

My question for you today is this: Are you a spoiled brat? Do you take for granted all the good gifts that your Heavenly Father showers all over you daily? Food to eat, clothes to wear, a house for shelter, a bed to sleep on, oxygen to breathe, sunlight to keep you warm, and I could go on and on and on. I went later that evening and apologized to my parents for my selfishness. I was so wrong! What about you today? Do you have anything you need to apologize to God about? Why not do it right now?

TIME OUT

The opposite of selfishness is being a servant. Look up the following scriptures and write down some insights on how you can become a servant and not a selfish brat.
· Matthew 8:14-15
· Matthew 20:28
· Philippians 2:5-8

1. Are you a selfish person or a servant?

2. How can you apply one of the scriptures above to your daily life this week? 

Talk to God about helping you see all the areas of your life where you have been selfish. Confess those as sin and ask God to place in you a servant’s heart.