My wife and I stopped by a fast food restaurant to pick up a sandwich after her meeting. Got a “meal deal” that included a small soda.
I sat at the table contemplating that soda (most likely the only one we’ll have all month). I thought, “In my life I’ve seen that size called a large; now it is called a small.”
Have our desires and expectations grown so much that what today is a large soda in a restaurant is a quantity not even dreamed of 30 or 40 years ago?
No wonder we have an obesity crisis.
Sometimes emergency medical teams cannot move people from a second floor bedroom to the waiting ambulance without a struggle. Even before medical training, the teams need weight training to build their muscles.
How about our desires and expectations toward other people? Do we need to be served all the time as if we are little princes and princesses?
How about our desires and expectations toward God?
Do we worship “Vending Machine God” where we deposit a quick prayer and expect a miracle to come out?
This is not a recent phenomenon. The apostle Paul refers to the dangers of rampant desire often. So also, see my favorite writer, James.
That is a reason we need to sharpen our spiritual practices. Maintain focus on the other rather than on ourselves.
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