Daily devotional, June 01, 2024 Ma’am Karen
"Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished."
Proverbs 16:5
We were scrolling through our YouTube feed one night, and I saw a thumbnail that said “When Karens go against police officers.” I did not give it much thought until I saw another one from a different channel altogether which read “When Karen’s get kicked off planes.” And so I got curious and asked the kids who Karen is and why she is being featured on a lot of videos.
My eldest then explained that Karen is the stereotypical entitled woman, who lashes out at everyone when she does not get her way. Hmmmm, now I know.
As followers of Jesus, we should jot in anyway be like a “Karen.” We are being called to follow our Savior and Messiah’s example of giving up His divinity and power to live a humble, sacrificial life of love and service to humankind:
"Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:7-8
Sadly, today’s culture is but an era of entitlement. Not enlightenment but entitlement. There seems to be a tolerance for those who want to aggressively assert their rights and privileges, unmindful of the hurting and needy people around them. The digital era has even exacerbated this, and so to avoid negative customer reviews even business owners have adjusted to this culture.
And if you read St, Paul the Apostle’s second letter to Timothy, we can think that maybe the end times are near because of the presence of the “Karens” in our society:
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." 2 Timothy 3:1-5
As followers of Jesus, we are being called to live a life opposite to how the karens of this world live. We are called to live a life of humility. We have to grow in Christlikeness and follow Jesus’ example. In His letter to the Philippians, St. Paul the Apostle called on early Christians to not become conceited and have genuine concern over other people:
"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4
We should remember that our Heavenly Father does not only ask us to be humble, He also warns us about the consequences of being proud and arrogant.
"For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;"
Isaiah 2:12
Living humbly may seem to put us at a disadvantage in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of the Lord we are doing just what He commanded us. In our everyday life, we should always choose to live quiet, simple and God-honoring lives. We should always willing to be used by the Lord for the advancement of His kingdom, by serving others and spreading His good news of salvation. We should do away with the entitlement culture, and try our best instead to live like Christ.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Philippians 2:1-11 to dig deeper on today’s topic.Reflection Question: How do you react to entitled people around you?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, help me to live a life of humility and service just like your Son, Jesus Christ. I wish to shed all of my entitlements by your feet my Lord, so help me as I endeavor to grow in Christlikeness. Amen.
