A Meditation on Replacing Entitlement with Appreciation

So this is not a podcast where you can multitask while you listen. I’m not trying to give you new information or things to consider like other podcasts. I love those kinds of podcasts. But in this podcast I’m wanting to give you an experience. I want you to learn to reintegrate your body with your mind’s awareness so that you can notice the “red flag” when you feel tension or anxiety in your body. It’s a red flag that you’re experiencing a vertical disconnect with God. And I want you to experience what a vertical connection feels like through envisioning the unseen reality of God’s presence in this moment and his presence in your body by his Holy Spirit. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast. Romans 11:36-12:2 NIV Pattern of this “age” — this culture — one way we easily conformed to this “age” or culture is an attitude of entitlement. I deserve better/more. I’m owed.  When that becomes the primary way of seeing yourself or your life — you will always have this back-burner belief of unfulfilled entitlement that heats up your anxiety in each relationship and circumstance. Insecurity. Feeling of threat. That you’re always owed more than you get/have. Always thinking you deserve better/more. Focused on all the ways you’re not being treated as you deserve. It’s the lens you put on through which you see almost everything. When you’re conforming to the pattern of this age that you deserve better/more, the life you’re shaping yourself to live is one of anger. Bitterness. Resentment. Jealousy. Joylessness. Lovelessness. Gracelessness. All anti-fruits of the Spirit. And all energizers of anxiety and tension and insecurity and self-protective guarding.  Romans 11:36-12:1 says that YOU — the existence of YOU — this forever YOU — everything you have — is an undeserved mercy from God. Through God. Ultimately to be lived for God.  1 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV) “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” “In view of God’s mercy.” When that “view” is your lens through which you see yourself and everything in your life, it starts to take the air out of anxiety. tension. Insecurity. Anger. Resentment. It starts replacing joylessness with joy.  A sense of appreciation. Love. Joy. Gratitude. Life is a gift, not an entitlement. Whatever good you have is undeserved. By God’s mercy.  This transformed mindset will transform your brain’s wiring and transform your life. Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.