We live in a culture of deserve. We hear phrases like, “You deserve a vacation,” “You deserve to be happy,” and “You deserve a break.” Just as quickly as we tell people what they deserve, we also tell them what they don't. We say, “You don't deserve to be treated that way,” or “You don't deserve a second chance.” And when someone who has wronged us finally faces the consequences of their actions, we're often quick to say, “They got what they deserved.” The language of deserving has become so common that we rarely stop to question it. We simply assume that life owes us certain things while other people deserve whatever comes to them.
I have worked in the public school system for over 20 years, and educators often use this same language when speaking about students. We say all students deserve the right to a free public education. Over time, this has expanded into claims that all students deserve a good teacher, all students deserve free meals, and all teachers deserve more money. This word “deserve” is used repeatedly in our culture. We have become a culture of “deserve,” and the more we accumulate as a society, the more we tend to believe we are entitled to.
I spent a week in Liberia, Africa, in 2015 helping lead a Rural Pastors Conference. I saw more physical poverty there in one week than I have seen in my lifetime in America, and I do not recall hearing anyone there talk about deserving better. The word “deserve” didn’t seem to be in their vocabulary. The pastors we were ministering to didn’t have much more than the clothes on their back and a beat up and dirty Bible, and yet they were so thankful to be able to attend that conference. It was almost as if they acted undeserving of being able to attend the conference and get two meals a day. This was a perspective so different from what we see in our country.
Before I go any further, it is helpful to define the word deserve. Merriam-Webster defines "deserve” as "to be worthy of" or "to merit." The word originally meant "to serve well," carrying the idea that a person had served faithfully or honorably enough to merit a particular response or reward.
Interestingly, the way we use the word today often carries a different meaning. It frequently suggests that a person is worthy of something simply because of who they are, rather than because of what they have done. This modern understanding raises an important question: What, exactly, am I worthy of simply because I exist?
In its original sense, the reward or response was determined by the one being served. Merit had to be earned, and the one receiving the service determined what, if anything, was deserved in return. But if we claim to deserve something apart from any demonstrated merit, who decides what we are entitled to? On what basis is that determination made? And who establishes the standard by which merit, or the lack of it, is judged?
These questions surfaced for me as I was reading through the book of Luke. There is a fascinating discussion around the concept of “deserving” in Luke 7:1-10. We learn about a particular centurion who had a very sick servant. This centurion had heard of Jesus and he was no doubt aware of Jesus’ miracles. The centurion in verse 4 sends some elders to Jesus asking if he would heal his servant. The elders remark to Jesus that this centurion “deserves” to have him heal his servant because of his love for their country and his building of the synagogue. The Greek word for “deserve” here is axios, and it means worthy or fitting because of merit or character. It carries the idea of balancing the scales. We find 2 verses later that this statement of “deserving” of a healing was not the centurion's idea. He simply wanted them to ask Jesus if he would heal his servant. This was an ask, not a request. After all, why would loving your country and helping build a synagogue merit a miraculous healing? Who is setting these parameters around what one deserves regarding a sick servant being healed? Jesus certainly didn’t promise healing for a servant if one loves their country or builds a synagogue. What is fascinating is the centurion's response 2 verses later in verse 6. He sends friends to meet Jesus to tell him that he (the centurian) doesn’t deserve to have Jesus under his roof. The interesting thing here is the Greek word for deserve Luke uses is hikanos which means sufficient or adequate. Then the Centurion doubled down on this response and said he wasn’t even worthy (same Greek word axios as in verse 4) to come to Jesus!
Clearly the centurion and those initial elders who went to Jesus had a different view of “deserve”. The elders thought like many in our modern culture. If we are a “good” person or we do something “good” then God owes us something. The “good” people, whoever they are, deserve the blessings, they deserve the healings, they deserve to have Jesus come to them. The centurion was having none of that. This centurion understood authority and he appealed to his authority for help. What he didn’t appeal to was perceived “goodness” or merit in himself. He seemed to understand this important truth: God doesn’t owe us anything!
In reality, there is only one thing that any of us truly deserves. Every person who has ever lived deserves God’s judgment because of sin. We deserve eternal punishment for our rebellion against a holy God. We are sinners, utterly incapable of justifying ourselves before Him. As Romans 6:23 plainly states, “The wages of sin is death.” That is what we truly deserve.
Yet we live in a culture that constantly tells us the opposite. Ours is an intensely individualistic society that conditions us to think first about ourselves. When many of our needs, and even many of our wants, are consistently met, it becomes easy to believe that we somehow merit the blessings we enjoy.
So what is the answer to this deserve delusion? I believe it is found in the response of the centurion. His humility enabled him to see his situation, and himself, as they truly were. He did not presume upon Jesus because of who he was or what he had accomplished. Instead, he approached Jesus with humble faith. Knowing Jesus could, hoping and asking if he would, heal his servant.
Remarkably, this Gentile centurion, who had only heard about Jesus, seemed to understand who Jesus was better than many who walked with Him every day. His humility produced a faith that amazed Jesus.
When we finally come to terms with what we actually deserve, we are left with only one hope and only one Savior who can rescue us from our sickness of death. If we approach Jesus with the same humility as the centurion, our faith, too, will be the kind of faith that delights and even amazes our Savior.
