Do you make “earning” blessings a part of your everyday life?

Is getting something for nothing a hard concept for you to grasp?

When people give you anything freely (a compliment, a free drink, a major purchase item), do you look at them sideways and think, “So… what’s the catch?”

Deep down, do you love the satisfaction of working for everything you get because, at least then, no one can say they handed you anything?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above, you’re right in the “I-don’t-want-hand-outs-or-help-or-support-or-anything-that-looks-like-generosity-because-I’d rather-earn-it-myself” camp and I’m right there with you.

But the problem with this kind of mentality isn’t simply that it limits what you can receive… but that it denies what you really deserve.

Somehow, we’ve come to a point where we confuse what we deserve with what we have to earn.  Either we’re on the end of the spectrum where folks say “Hand me everything because I’m young, beautiful and I won’t work for it anyway” or we’re on the end of the spectrum where we’ve lived enough to say, “I know nothing comes without a catch so I’m going to work my tail off because I’d rather sweat my blessings than have you one day come back to me and slap me in the face with them by saying ‘You owe me.'”

Either perspective doesn’t work.  There are MANY blessings in life that will come to you with no hard labor, no hard work, no calculated planning.  The blessings will land in your lap and, as you enjoy the gift, you’ll remember that somewhere long ago, maybe 5 or 10 years ago, you prayed and hoped for this thing… and then you forgot that you did… and now here it is.

Your blessings will come freely if you allow them to.  

But what is it with some of us and this need to work too damn hard for every single thing we get?  Let’s stop that nonsense.

Instead of expecting the world to be a “gimme gimme” place, let’s become individuals whose arms are outstretched, ready to receive at any moment but not expecting everything to come on a silver platter.  Let’s be grateful for all that we have and let’s make gratitude a way of life and not simply a list we write as part of our daily morning routine.  Let’s look at life from a “How can I serve?” perspective and stop worrying about the costs of giving.  Let’s go for what we REALLY want without feeling guilty when we finally get it.  And let’s stop being the kind of people who limit God by telling Him that we know all of this “success stuff” is up to us and not up to Him.  He is always in the midst of what we do.  We are always on His mind.  Maybe if we stopped living like a lone wolf and started taking our rightful place in the pack, we’d get much farther much faster.

No person makes it alone.  And, yes, there are still generous people in the world who will give to you with no expectation of receiving.  Be open to all of it.  Be open to receiving your highest good.