We expect to be paid for our work. We expect loans to be repaid. And when someone makes a promise, we expect them to keep it.
When those expectations are met, we’re happy.
But when we don’t get paid, when money isn’t returned or when people let us down, we naturally get upset.
And over time, as life goes smoothly with good health, steady work, a roof over our head - we begin to expect it.
We start to subconsciously feel entitled to it. And when reality doesn’t match our expectations? We get upset and frustrated.
In this week’s Torah portion, Va’etchanan, Moses makes his final plea to G-d to enter the Land of Israel.
Our sages note that the word Va’etchanan is linked to the Hebrew for “gift.”
Moses wasn’t citing his lifetime of achievements or his steadfast leadership. He simply asked G-d to grant him entry as a gift.
He understood that G-d didn’t owe him anything.
That’s always the case. Are we ever owed anything by G-d?
His reality is utterly beyond ours; our finite actions are, by comparison, completely insignificant.
No matter how influential we may be, no matter how many likes, views or reposts we get - it’s all negligible compared to G-d’s reality.
The fact that our actions carry any cosmic weight at all is only because G-d chooses to value them. (Itself a powerful notion to consider).
Moses modeled this humility when he asked to enter the land as a gift.
And it’s a transformative mindset worth adopting.
When we let go of entitlement, we stop feeling cheated when life doesn’t go as planned.
And when we remember that G-d owes us nothing, our gratitude and joy can only grow.