You Deserve Better

Pop songs lead Monica Portogallo to consider how God’s tells us we all deserve better than what the world offers us.

I have to admit, I have always been a sucker for songs about someone deserving better than their current partner —songs like “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” by the Beatles, “Na, Na, Hey, Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” by Steam, or more recently, “Treat You Better” by Shawn Mendes and “I Ain’t Sayin’” by Jordan Davis.  

For a long time, I thought my penchant for this type of song came from some kind of silly, girlish desire to be saved by a knight in shining armor. Recently I realized that it might come from a deeper longing, a longing that perhaps all humans share. 

We all deserve better  

Our fallen world, by its nature, is never going to treat us with the dignity we deserve as children of God. Strangers will judge us without knowing us. Loved ones let us down. Society will hold us to impossible standards. We wallow in, or hide from, our own shortcomings, making ourselves miserable either way. We will seek what the world says will make us happy and still feel miserable.  

The Love of God, in Christ, though, tells us we deserve better. It tells us not to put our trust in other fallible humans. It urges us to forgive them, and not to determine our value based on what others think of us, or how they treat us. It tells us to be honest with ourselves about our sins, and to trust, with God’s grace, we can rise above them. 

The world needs to know  

When I look at our modern world, where “none” is a common religious preference, I wonder if “you deserve better” is a message we need to highlight more when we evangelize.  

You deserve better than letting your sense of worth come from social media likes.  

You deserve better than to be valued only as an object of lust.   

You deserve better than being seen as a tool for economic gain.  

You deserve better than a shallow, self-centered, empty life.  

You deserve better than being considered only as good as your worst mistake.  

You deserve better than the conditional love and regard the world offers.  

Your worth is immutable and comes from the God of the Universe, Who loves you beyond anything you can ever imagine, more than words can say. 

Now that is something to sing about! 

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Copyright 2024 Monica Portogallo
Images: Canva