"I deserve a happy ending"

Occasionally, a word or a phrase
encountered in everyday discourse will jump out and lodge itself in my
brain for the rest of the day—or at least until I blog about it!  This
morning, I was listening to a radio program discussing a certain person
who had been the victim of some terrible crimes, the unlikelihood of
“justice” being done in this case, the effects this was having upon
them, etc, etc.  It was an interview that spoke of sadness and regret,
anger and pain.  Near the end, the topic turned to the uncertainty of
what lay ahead for this person who had been victimized in a variety of
ways.  He wasn’t sure about specific next steps, but he were certain of
one thing: “I deserve a happy ending.”

It’s an interesting idea—that this person, or anyone else, deserves a
happy ending.  One should always be wary, I suppose, of subjecting any
singular, isolated statement to overly rigorous analysis, but this
little phrase has me thinking today.  Is this statement simply a
reflection of an individual’s psychological state, with a bit of urgency
tacked on?  Is it just another way of saying “I hope” for a happy
ending or “I would really like” a happy ending?  Is the word “deserve”
substituted to focus attention upon horrors already been endured—as if
life were some kind of karmic calculation whereby enduring x amount of hardship means that y amount
of goodness or pleasure is due?  Are we in the realm of psychology or
ontology here—does “I deserve a happy ending” merely reflect our own
wishful projections or does it point to something objectively real about
the nature and destiny of humanity and the cosmos?

The Bible, of course, has the odd thing to say about what we “deserve,” and it’s not exactly pleasant reading.  What we deserve, according to the Apostle Paul and others, is death.  We are “by nature objects of wrath,” according to Ephesians 2.  Objects of wrath.  By nature—simply
because of who/what we are as sinners who have always chosen self over
God.  Strong words about what we deserve.  Of course, this isn’t all that
the Bible has to say on the matter (thank God!), but the idea that to
whatever extent we “deserve” anything from God or the world, it is
anything but a happy ending seems like a fairly inescapable conclusion
from Scripture.