Turning Down $12 Million

Gil Meche turned down $12 million dollars last week, for one simple reason.  He said he doesn't deserve it.  A pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, he finished out last season 0-5, and his career with the Royals is 29-39 games.  When asked why he made his choice, he said, “When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it.”

I find with rewards, we have two equally wrong attitudes with God.  We either feel we deserve whatever we can get from God or we shouldn't receive anything at all.  Sometimes the attitude is one of living our lives however we choose, then wondering why God doesn't bless us in every way.  In Jeremiah 7, God equates this to being a robber.   We take what isn't earned through deeds or relationship and expect the rewards of knowing God to be ours.

Sometimes we try to earn what God has for us.  This is an equally frustrating attitude.  Like Meche, we pitch less than average with God's standards.  The ball falls short of home plate.  If we wait for receive God's blessings until we deserve them, we will never have them.  So what can we do?

Its a mistake to expect God's treasures and demand them.  It is also a mistake to try to earn them.  There is no way to merit God's favor.  Your place on the team is guaranteed by God who paid the price for what you receive on the Cross.  You can't earn what Christ has bought for you nor can you demand what Christ freely gives.  It can only be had through relationship.  When you believe, accept what Jesus has done for you, the riches of Christ become your inheritance.

You don't need to rob God nor do you have to turn down what He offers.  He gives you a better country, a home which can never been taken away.  You need to find what He gives through your relationship with Him.   We need to think of our heavenly country as Meche does of his home state. He says, "Everywhere I’ve been in the country, for some reason, this is the place I can’t get away from.”