Just One Word: Deserve
Lora Parsons
The Ashland Beacon
Most word processing programs provide writers with a way to click a word to find its meaning and synonyms. When I do that with “deserve,” I find: “to do something or have or show qualities worthy of reward or punishment.” Qualities worthy of reward or punishment…I’ve been letting that phrase sink in alongside the sinking in that’s been happening for months now about the word the phrase defines.
If we deserve something, we’ve done something to earn it. We’ve achieved a certain level of success so that we get what’s rightfully coming to us. When we work hard, we deserve a break. When we put time into exercising, we deserve to see results in the form of clothes fitting better or muscles toning up. When we study for a big test, we deserve to get a good grade. And, when things don’t work out that way, we don’t understand why we’re being short-changed. We deserve good things to happen when we do good things! On the flip side, though, when we don’t do good, we don’t deserve good things. If we don’t help bake the cake, we don’t deserve to eat. If we procrastinate on a due date, we deserve to be cramming at the last minute to try to get a good grade. We’re also conditioned to think that when we do bad things, we get bad things. How many times have we heard or said, “You get what you deserve?” Either way. Good or bad.
And, that’s largely true in life. We wouldn’t keep saying it if there wasn’t some element of truth to it. But, I’m finding myself lately trying to squeeze out another thought from this word. The prefix de- means “removal” or “reversal,” while the root word “serve” means “to perform for” or “to give help to.” Another way of looking at these internal meanings in the word is that the first part in a sense means “to take” while the second part means “to give.” The word parts contradict one another. This word, then, turns on its end the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In this case, the whole tears itself apart in regard to meaning. The word implodes around itself when you break it down and try to put it back together. Deserve. To take-give.
When I look at this word in terms of my relationship with Jesus, I find that a word like take-give, as contradictory as it seems, is the only kind of word that makes any sense. After all, that’s what He did for me, right? For us? He took and gave, both at once. His death, burial, and resurrection took away my sin, my guilt, my shame, and gave me in place of those: life, an eternity in Heaven, forgiveness. He took away all that I deserved and replaced it with nothing that I earned. And, if that was where we stopped in looking at this word, that would be more than enough to give pause for celebration. But, I feel like there’s something else trying to crack its way out of this word…depending on how it's pronounced.
Of course, the correct pronunciation means saying the word with a Z sound in place of the S, but there’s an even more important message for us when we pronounce the S as an S. Not de-zerve, but rather de-serve. The usual pronunciation means focusing on what I get or don’t get; that’s its definition. It turns the crux of the meaning toward me. If it’s pronounced de-serve, then someone else is at the center. It turns me away from myself, away from what I should or shouldn’t get. When I’m less focused on me, I can be more otherly focused, turning my attention either toward Jesus and how to follow Him more completely or on others and what I can do for them. I’m less focused on me and more fixed on others.
In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus instructs us about the importance of serving others: I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison…and you met my need, whatever it was. The basics of our physical existence are covered in the needs mentioned here: food, shelter, and clothing. And, the basic elements that give us the ability to move about and live are covered: health and the freedom to make choices for ourselves. The elements of a desirable life are all fanned before us in looking at the needs that have been met according to this verse. The writer then goes on to say that when we reach toward others in any of these ways, it’s as though we acted directly toward our Heavenly Father. When we give someone a drink and help them quench their physical thirst, we simultaneously satisfy God’s desire for us to serve one another. When we give a winter coat to someone who doesn’t have one, we simultaneously warm the heart of God who wants His children to share freely with those who have needs. When we visit the imprisoned--those in physical cells or those trapped in figurative chains--we help break down barriers between ourselves and others while simultaneously opening up a pathway that may allow us to lead them to Him. When we serve others in any way, we also serve the Father. In not serving ourselves--in de-serving ourselves--we directly serve Jesus. When we give, we receive; we’re taught that very clearly in scripture. God’s law is the opposite of man’s, so a word like take-give, de-serve, teaches us how to live in such a way that points others toward Heaven. When I’m tempted to think about what I de-zerve in a situation, my prayer lately has been that I shift my focus to ask how I can, instead, de-serve myself. How can I give so that others can take away a piece of Jesus? Jesus de-served Himself through a death He hadn’t earned; it’s my turn to ask how I can de-serve myself to better share Him with the world around me. It’s time to forget about what I de-zerve myself and focus on how I can de-serve myself more effectively. One little letter sound makes all the difference in this month’s “Just One Word.”