He allows us the illusion that we've earned it
Chesed, by definition, implies something good. This is even more evident when we speak of Hashem’s chesed; He’s the embodiment of perfection, and it follows that His chesed is perfect as well.
In Bircas Avos, we praise Hashem for being “gomel chassadim tovim,” granting us “good chesed.” It seems strange to qualify Hashem’s kindness as good; why would we assume His chesed to be anything but good?
In addition, why does the Shemoneh Esreh use the word “gomel” when referring to His chesed instead of the colloquial “nosein” or “oseh”? What’s the importance of the word “gomel”?
Gomel comes from the word “gemul,” repayment for goods or services. Based upon this, we thank Hashem for the “chasadim tovim” that He proffers as repayment to us. Repayment? Since when does Hashem owe us payment or repayment?
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