day no. 15,753: taking responsibility for the privileges given

“O let us prove our gratitude by our devotion, and live as those who, having claimed a privilege, are willing to take the responsibility connected with it.” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Christians are a privileged people.

No shame in our game.

Blessings are a gift of God. They are nothing to be ashamed or repented of. We should want to be blessed by God. He wants to bless. He doesn't begrudgingly give. God is the original cheerful Giver. He leads out in that by example. Our response should be gratitude. We should be grateful for all He has given us and all He gives to others.

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

God commands us to rejoice when others are blessed and weep with those who have lost blessings. Envy turns this on its head and rejoices when others lose their blessings and weeps when others receive more blessing.

The envious should be ashamed of themselves, not the blessed. The blessed have nothing to apologize for or feel bad about. If they followed the advice of the envious, they would disobey God who commands us to say, "Thank You!" for all the good He gives. If the blessed repent of being blessed, they do not honor their God, nor do they appease the demands of the envious. 

Privilege is grace in operation. Who has anything which they did not receive? Life, breath, and everything else? So if we have all received it, how could we boast in it? Or imagine we have it as a reward?

Do not balk at blessings because the world has taught you to flinch at the sound of "privilege." Privilege is good. The reason some use it as a slander is because they want the privileges of others. By their envy, they confess that privilege is good. They think it's bad that they don't have it. But enough about what others say about blessings, back to what God says.

Some imagine that they have received eyes as a reward for being so good at seeing. Others imagine that they are being rewarded with feet for having walked so far. Don't take credit for hitting a triple for having been born on third.

To be blessed is not merely to have received, but to have given thanks. 

Privilege is a responsibility. It is something which requires a response. And God has commanded that response to be given in the form of gratitude. The heart which gladly thanks God for all it has and dedicates itself to the grit and grind of giving Him glory demonstrates that it has fully embraced and employed its privilege. It hasn't pretended it wasn't by shamefacedly refuting the privilege or pretended as though there was no proper response.

Gratitude is the proper response to grace.