What We "Deserve."

For a while now I've become very aware of the word "deserve" in our culture. I turn on the TV or the radio and I hear on commercials that I "deserve" a vacation or a new car or a well made hamburger. I'm really starting to become concerned about our use of this word. It sure seems to be thrown around a lot and I'm afraid our culture is starting to buy into it. This is becoming especially true of our younger generations. We have become an affluent nation, so much so that even those of us who fall into below average incomes still experience levels of comfort that surpass that of royalty in previous times. In the past kings and queens would ride in carriages while today most everyone travels much greater distances in much shorter times in automobiles.  People used to wait months, even years for messages while we pick up a cell phone and communicate immediately. 

I'm not suggesting that we stop striving for a better life for all, but in order to fully appreciate that life, we can't feel as if we "deserve" it.  The moment one feels they deserve something is the moment one loses the ability to be thankful for that very thing.  Those who came before us worked very hard for us to have what we have today.  If anyone deserves the luxuries of today it is the generations of yesterday who laid the foundation for us.  Since they aren't here, to enjoy the fruit of their labor, lets at least not act like we somehow deserve what they sacrificed to give us.  The only reason we have what we have is because we were lucky enough to be born where we were born.

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