The amount of wealth some people have is absolutely dumbfounding. Even more astonishing is the attitude that can come with it. For example:
- Some grandparents generously gave $20 inside a card to their wealthy teenage grandchildren. With disgust, they looked at their smiling grandparents and said, “What in the world do you think we can buy with $20?”
- In college, a guy threw his phone against the wall and destroyed it. He then borrowed a phone to make a call, “Dad, I need a new phone. Mine broke.”
- A girl in high school received a brand new Dodge Viper for her birthday, but she hated the color. So, she gave the car title to a friend. Her parents bought her a new Viper.
- One lady threw a tantrum on a flight and delayed the entire plane because she couldn’t have 3 seats in a row to herself. When she was denied, she grabbed her stuff and stormed off the plane.
No one likes a spoiled, bratty person. There is just something that rubs us wrong when a well-off person is ungrateful and snooty about their possessions. However, before we start pointing fingers, it might surprise us that we are more like these people than we might think.
As Christians, we have access to unbelievable wealth. God is “rich in mercy” and wants to lavish this wealth upon us (Ephesians 2:4). He also wants to show us the “surpassing riches of His grace” (Ephesians 2:7). So, when we’re ungrateful for such amazing gifts, it stays something about us.
See, too often we tell others we are “blessed” because of the grace and mercy we have in Christ, and yet live our lives sinfully, almost as if we are entitled to these precious gifts. When we go on sinning, it is an indicator of just how much we actually treasure God’s blessings. It tells how thankful, or not, we are for them. It shows, frankly, that we’ve become spoiled.
Paul was also dealing with people who were taking advantage of God’s grace. This is why he rhetorically asks, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2).
The main difference between a blessed person and a spoiled person is the attitude. Are we grateful for our spiritual blessings? Do we treasure, value, and protect them?
When you stand before God’s throne, will He see a person who was truly thankful for the blessings He gave, or a person who was spoiled by them?
Brett Petrillo