So many times in our lives we hear about something that somebody out there “deserves. ” Whether it be a new car, a better boyfriend, a higher job position, a good grade, or really anything that could possibly enhance someone’s way of living, they “deserve” it. If a basketball player shows up to practice and does all the drills required of him, he then thinks that he deserves a starting position on the team. If a child is told to eat their vegetables at a meal and they do so, they then think that they deserve desert. So why is it that people have this preconceived notion that they deserve things?
Why is it that people think that just because they have been born into this world that they deserve better things? I think a lot of this feeling has to do with the selfishness of human beings. A lot of the times the people that feel like they deserve better things for themselves already have everything they could possibly need. What is it that makes them deserving? For example, a middle class kid who has been provided with everything they need thinks that he deserves a new jacket because of his good grades when he already has plenty of jackets to keep him warm in the winter.
How about the homeless man that sleeps under the freeway and freezes every night? Don’t you think he might deserve the jacket a little more than the kid does? Why is it that someone who has a bed to sleep in and a roof over their head feels that they “deserve” nicer things? There are children living in places like the Dominican Republic and Ecuador that have absolutely nothing, but they don’t ask for more. Do you not think that the child sleeping on the streets begging for money truly does deserve a roof over his head? The word “deserve” is defined as “doing something or having or showing qualities that deserve reward or punishment.
The key words in this definition are “doing something. ” To be deserving of something better, you actually have to work for it. You actually have to do something to show that you truly deserve that thing. Why is it that a well-off businessman that doesn’t work nearly as hard as a lower class worker thinks that he deserves a higher position while the lower class worker is working their tail off and can barely support their family. Don’t you think the lower class worker might deserve the pay that the businessman receives?
In today’s society, the word “deserve” is used very loosely. The looseness of this word makes it difficult for people to be thankful. If a person is always thinking that they deserve more than they already have, then they can never be able to accept and be thankful for the things that have already been handed to them. Take, for example, the child who was discussed earlier that wanted the new jacket. The child’s desire and the attitude that he “deserved” the new jacket makes it harder for him to appreciate the jackets that he has already been given.
The homeless man that truly does deserve the jacket, but may not think he does, is so grateful for anything that is given to him, even something as simple as a few coins. Or how about the person that thinks they deserve nicer things? They cannot truly appreciate the roof over their heads and the beds that they sleep in that have already been handed to them. Yet, the child in the Dominican Republic or in Ecuador is more than appreciative for the things that they have, even though they barely have anything. In the world we live in today, people are selfish.
The people that already have everything they need to survive always feel like they “deserve” more. They have this constant thought that something that should have been given to them was rejected from reaching them. Instead, they should be thankful for what they already have. They should be thankful for the things in life that have been handed to them without requiring any work. The perception of this word needs to be changed. To truly deserve something means to truly work for something. Someone deserves something better than what they already have when they have truly worked for it.
If you can afford to go out and buy yourself a new car at anytime and you think that you deserve that new car, then you are mistaken. You don’t deserve that new car; you just want that new car. When a person needs a new car because the one he has is not efficient enough and he works his hardest and does everything he can to earn the money to buy the car, then that is when he truly deserves it. Wanting something and deserving something are two completely different things that are often mistaken as the same due to the selfishness of humans.
