Entitlement

“ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Philippians 4:11-13

Entitlement.  We are living among a generation that feels entitled to have, get and acquire whatever they dream of without necessarily earning it.  It makes me angry when my own children think they should have something just because they want it.  How often do I have that attitude?  Too often, if I am being honest with myself.  Growing up I accrued credit card debt because I often bought what I wanted without having the means to pay for it.  I guess I thought it was okay because everyone else was doing it.  What I didn’t realize (in my immaturity) was that it is essentially stealing.  I knew I couldn’t pay it off.  It was self-gratifying, impulsive and irresponsible. 

Entitlement can become a disease and the more you indulge the urges, the more you feed it and it grows.  You will never be satisfied because something is always bigger, better or just different.  Entitlement is prideful and self-centered.  A person thinks they deserve it just from being.  Or they compare themselves to others and if they have it then I should have it. 

True living is being satisfied with where God has you.  A thankful heart is feeling blessed for what God has given you and not focusing on what you don’t have.  It doesn’t have to be about lowering your expectations, but reframing them.  A person can always look at a relationship in their life and think of all the areas they’d like to change or that are missing.  Or they can choose to focus on all that is there and the attributes that person does have.  Be careful that your discontentment and ungratefulness does not send an inadvertent message to others that God is not a good God.  Reframing is a habit of the heart.  The old cliché is applicable:  Is your glass half empty or half full?  Give thanks no matter where God has you today.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Warmly,
Jill