Responding to God’s Overwhelming Expectations

The quality of our expectations determines the quality of our action.  A. Godin

Expectations are a reality of life; and everyone wants to know what is expected of them.

As children, we grow up with a deep-seeded desire to know the expectations of our parents; and to meet them. Parents, in turn, desire to know what is expected of them for their children to grow up physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy.

Employees want to know what is expected of them, to give structure to their daily work, and as a guide for future promotion and pay increase. To afford those pay increases, employers want to know what the client expects from the product or service they provide.

Granted, there are those who act as if they want nothing be expected of them. They are deceived in thinking this is possible. Expectations are a reality of life.

And everyone wants to know what is expected of them.

Society has a way of communicating expectations. Customers buy the products and services that meet their expectations. Employers establish standards and operating procedures for their employees. Good parents set the ground rules for their children; and – this is important – help their children understand and operate within the expectations of society.

Expectations are a reality of life; and they are good for us. Knowing them is critical.

It is, therefore, ironic that the human race has an ongoing battle with expectations. There is something about us that causes a discomfort with them. It’s like we want something else, but we don’t know what that something else is.

We need expectations, but we don’t want them – at least not the expectations that someone else would put on us. We prefer to find, or create, our own expectations.

We convince ourselves that what we want is something more; maybe something better. Attempting to put a positive spin on this condition, we use terms like “the human spirit” to describe our feigned desire for greater expectations.

This phrase – the human spirit – is not a bad description of our condition. In fact, it is the base condition of every human being. At its core is a desire to set our own expectations and have everyone else judge us by them.

The Bible calls it by another name: The spirit of rebellion.

Well now; at this point I feel the need to interject a warning and a request: This article is not headed where you are expecting. Please bear with me.