Expectations

For the last few months the concept of expectations has made itself apparent to me time and again. Expectations? Yea, you know. What you expect... Expectations like someone writing something would done know how to use good grammer.  Or expectations of how well your car works.

When I was in high school my dad bought a 1981 V6 Chevrolet Caprice. It was really pretty. It smelled really nice. It had a great ride. But it absolutely never worked. Something was always broken. And if you drove it on the highway for more than 30 minutes it got really tired and would barely go. It was in reality a pathetic car.


For the last couple of years I have driven a GMC Yukon after completely wearing out 3 minivans. 38,000 miles into my GMC it has had only 1 problem of any kind- the dashboard cracked at one side and was replaced under warranty. Other than that it has been an absolutely flawless vehicle.


What is really funny is that in 1981 and 1982 if you asked anyone about the Chevrolet Caprice they would have said it was a great car. But today if you ask anyone about a Yukon they will tell you it's ok. How does that work? An awesome car is o.k. and a pathetic car is good.


Somewhere along the way our expectations have gone through the roof. Maybe it is symptomatic of our times- more, more, more... better, better, better.


But as things have improved our expectations also seem to have increased. We live in a time where we are having trouble finding people who will serve as an elected official because there is an expectation that only people who have no flaws need apply. The problem being that we all have flaws and quirks.


Heightened expectations have also produced an odd byproduct. Christian traits such as patience, mercy, and forgiveness are overrun with expectations of perfection. We expect perfection of our children, our schools, our spouses, our family, our employers, our government, and even our churches.


Perhaps we are demonstrating a type of idolatry because we are expecting god-like perfection of everything but God himself. Placing our expectations of perfection in anything other than God is going to bring frustration and a desire to be critical of everything. Misplaced expectations also encourage us to live by our own ability instead of through faith in God.


What is the solution? Maybe we just need to chill out and lower our expectations!


Seriously!


Maybe we need to offer mercy, grace, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness to everyone around us. Maybe we need to expect less of others (and ourselves) and be excited when we get more. Maybe we need to raise our expectations for God. Maybe we need to tell others about God instead of about our GMC.