for when we want recognition

"A person will brag about something they're supposed to do...What do you want a cookie?  You're supposed to [do that!]"  ~Chris Rock

I first heard this quote from a CD my brother had growing up.  When it came up in my memory banks recently my first thought was "I can't believe my parents let us listen to this!" My second thought was "Hold on, did my parents know we listened to this?"  For your benefit I left out the numerous expletives and paraphrased a bit, but the point still comes across and its a good one.

Another quote along these lines my children have actually been repeating a lot lately.  It is said by the mom in the movie The Long Haul which is based on the Wimpy Kid book with the same title.  An intelligent source indeed.  Side note, the actor and actress who play the parents in the movie are none other than the drummer from That Thing You Do and Cher from Clueless.  My mind took awhile to process that one.

Regardless of how ancient I felt when I saw them, she still had a great response when her children asked for something in return for taking them to a Country Fair,  "The Fair is a TREAT!  You don't get a reward for getting a treat!"  Oh man if I had a dollar for every time my boys asked me for a 'prize' when they behaved somewhere.  Seriously?  Your prize is not getting in trouble.  Hope you enjoy it.

Ready for blunt honesty?  I too want the treat, the prize.  Yes please, I WOULD like a cookie.

If you asked me point blank I'd want to say no, of course I don't think I should get something for just doing what I am supposed to do, for doing my job, but the truth is most of the time I do.  I want the recognition.  I want the appreciation.  I want flowers, or a thank you, or a shout out on social media, or a big dang chocolate chip cookie!  I think a lot of us do.

It's not that rewarding good behavior is a terrible practice or that recognition for a job well done should be done away with.  However, rewards and recognition should not fuel our actions and the moment they become expected our hearts have taken a dangerous shift.

A verse in Luke kind of sent me spinning toward thinking all this through.  "In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, "We are worthless servants; we've only done our duty."

Now, you are not worthless.  You are loved and set apart and created for purpose.  There are hundreds of verses that tell you how much you are loved and how uniquely you were created and if you find yourself right now in a moment of despair please take time to read this before continuing.  

For now, there is a need to look from a different angle, because the point of this specific thought is that we as humans begin to expect praise and admiration for every little thing we do and will get into the habit of not accomplishing something unless we know that praise will happen.  With that comes the loss of thanksgiving in our hearts and the rise of entitlement in it's stead.

I don't want to walk around this Earth as a consumer, ready to simply take and take as much as I can, but it is often easy to slip into that mode.  Lets face it, there is so much out there to take!  Instead, I want to walk this Earth for both taking the gifts others extend and giving the ones I've been given. 

The only way to combat the constant need for reward is through the beauty of generosity.

  

Giving generously is only possible when you acknowledge what you already have.

Acknowledging what you already have is only possible when you understand that in Christ we have been given everything we need.

I can give generously, while graciously accepting what is given in return, whether it is in the form of a yummy cookie or just the knowledge I am living the life I was given to live.

This is not an easy goal, but it is a worthy one, and within it will come a change in our inner dispositions as we are molded to be more like Christ.  I am praying for you as you search to see if you might be tempted to demand instead of give. Pray for me.