AN ENTITLED
GENERATION!
(The
opposite of entitlement is thankfulness)
11/20/2016
Mitt Romney was recorded in a private
conversation during his bid for the presidency: “…. there are 47 percent…who
are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe
the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are
entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That’s an
entitlement. (and they believe) the government should give it to them.”
The political pundits would say this
speech may have ended Mitt Romney’s path presidency. He mildly put at 47
percent of people being entitled, however the truth of the matter is that we
have a whole generation of people who feel they are entitled. Entitlement is
when people feel the world owes them something without having to do anything to
earn it.
The dictionary definition of
entitlement: The fact of having a right to something. The amount to which a
person has a right. The belief that one inherently deserves certain privileges
or special treatments. What privileges or special treatments do any one of us really
deserve? From a biblical perspective, entitlement is “when I get the false
impression that I deserve more than I really deserve which is a cross.” Given
our sinful nature, if it was not for Jesus the only thing we deserve is hell.
Recently, Wilma and I attended a
Deeper Life Conference, where the speaker; Mark Buchanan asked the attendees a
couple of questions. What’s the natural default of your heart? Where does it go
when it is at rest? Is it fear, disappointment, resentment or joy, gratitude
and astonishment? For Mark the number
one thing that he struggles with is a sense of entitlement. What might be your
number one struggle?
I think if we are really honest with
ourselves it wouldn’t take much time before we admit, yes we too might be
struggling with entitlement. This is not a phenomenon of certain section of people,
but it affects all of us. How did this trap of entitlement come about in our
generation? How does the Bible view entitlement? What is the opposite of entitlement?
How can we create an entitlement free culture?
I.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO AN ENTITLED GENERATION
When we argue about which generation
is more entitled, the current one blames the previous one. It is true that the
present generation reaps the fruit either good or bad of the generation that
has gone before. In the case of entailment many blame the “Baby
Boomers,(1943-1960) for creating a generation of entitlement, why?
For example, before World War II the
great depression swept the entire globe, leaving many unemployed and desperate. According to Tim Smith, the pastor of First United Methodist Church, “
Entitlement started in earnest after WW II when the United States experienced
unprecedented economic growth and the Baby Boomers experienced the highest
standard of living of any generation in human history.
The entire consumer market focused
on them because of the numbers of their generation, catering to their every need
and wants. Boomers then passed on to their children the promise of “The
American Dream” that every American will get to have a good life, a job they
enjoy, a generous paycheck, affordable housing and transportation and a secure
retirement and an expectation that their standard of living would be the same
or better than their parent’s, not taking into account that it took decades of
hard work to attain that.”[1] In one-way the baby boomers failed to set up an
example of contentment.
Many,
who were born in the sixties and thereafter, grew up not knowing what hardship
is all about, but with a sense of privilege, and entitlement. They lack a sense of gratitude and
contentment. It is all about their needs and wants. Let me make a statement
here before we look deep into this subject. All entitlements are not bad, some
are absolutely necessary for human survival. For example, all children are
entitled to have a mother and a father especially during their early and
formative years.
All
of us have unalienable human rights for food, clothing, shelter, freedom,
security and to live productive, healthy, and happy lives. If you are working
in a job you are entitled to receive a compensation or salary. It is very
biblical. The scripture says, “Those
who work deserve their pay!” I Timothy 5:18.
I am not against these types of
entitlements. The entitlement I am concerned about is that when someone feels
that they deserve a much better treatment because they belong to a certain,
race, ethnicity, class, religion or strata of society. Or even worse is that
when they think that every one owes it to them, and they don’t have to do
anything to earn it. That is bad
entitlement, that’s more dangerous than anything else.
How does this entitlement manifest
itself? It manifests in a very subtle way. Some parents genuinely think that
they owe it to their children so they give into any and every whim and fancy of
their children. Knowing that weakness children complain, demand, and
manipulate, if that doesn’t work they throw a temper tantrum to get what they
want. Once they get what they want from their parents, they expect the same
kind of treatment from everyone else around them. Soon we will have a spoiled brat among us.
Wilma and I have raised our daughters not always giving them what they wanted.
We did not play to their every tune. We did not let them manipulate us.
We corrected them, disciplined them
and set boundaries where necessary. The scriptures give us some clear
instructions on how to raise our children. Proverbs 22:6, “Start children off
on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from
it.” Proverbs 13:20-24, “Whoever spares the rod hates their
children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.”
Parenting
is an awesome responsibility that God has given to us. It is the duty of every
parent to raise their children in the ways of God. We are living in a society
where we are becoming more and more child centered. When we never discipline
our children, and give everything they ask, we are doing a disservice to them.
We are raising children who think that they are entitled to every thing.
A
clear example of this failure of parenting is, “Ethan Couch” who is infamously
called as, “the Afluenza Teeen” I would
call him “An entitled Brat” Ethan’s parents never corrected or disciplined him,
instead gave everything he wanted all the time.
As a result he was raised to believe that he could do anything and get
away and never feel any remorse for doing so. The parents failure to start him
off on the right way, and his entitled behavior resulted in the loss of four
innocent lives forever and one can never speak or move, and not to mention the
grief stricken families.
Just imagine
what devastation one entitled and unruly kid has caused. Because of his
un-curtailed behavior four families will not have their loved ones with them
during this thanksgiving season. They won’t be there to celebrate Christmas.
This kind of entitlement is far more dangerous to our society. Are we raising an entitled generation?
Entitlement
is not a new phenomenon we see it play out in biblical times as well. Let me
introduce a group of people who thought they deserved better treatment. This
was the time when Joshua was allotting the land to the tribes of Israel. One of
the sons of Joseph, Manasseh was given only one lot as their inheritance. They
thought they were too numerous, and that to they were the sons of Joseph who
once was the prime minister of Egypt; hence they were to be treated with favor.
What a sense of entightelement?
They
went up to Joshua complaining, why you gave us only one allotment since we were
numerous and were blessed by God. “If you are so numerous, Joshua answered, and
“if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and
clear land for yourselves there in the land of Perizzites and Rephaites.” The
Manassehites were unwilling to do the hard work of clearing the land, instead
they came back to Joshua with another excuse. “The hill country is not enough
for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with
iron..”
Joshua
said to them, “you are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one
allotment, but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits
will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron and though
they are strong, you can drive them out.” Joshua 17: 14-18. This story tells us
that not only in our generation but ages past as well, there are always those
groups of people or individuals who feel they are entitled for better things
and better service. They want everything to be presented to them on a golden
platter without having to do the hard work.
After
hearing this sermon, you may be beginning to see the areas where you felt
entitled. Where you felt you deserved better than others. During this thanksgiving
season, how can we deal with our sense of faulty entitlement, and cultivate
contentment?
II. THE ANTIDOTE FOR ENTITLMENT IS THANKFULNESS.
Let’s face it; if we are honest with
ourselves, at times we feel we deserve much better things in life. We walk
around with an attitude of entitlement. The most powerful antidote for
entitlement is radical gratitude.
Considering all of life as a gift and living in constant recognition of
the many givens. Waking up to a new day.
A roof over your head. Light switches in every room. Water running from your taps. Food on the table. Relationships. The ability to make choices, go places. A
warm shower. Laying down your head on a
pillow in peace at night, these and many more we take for granted. And the sin
loving and sin exalting world we live in does not encourage us to recognize
this, is that we once were desperately lost and doomed to eternal punishment
and separation from God but He saved us, cleaned us up and made us His
treasured possession. Therefore thankfulness is fitting for us in every
circumstance.
In closing, dear
friends let me remind you of the words of Paul to the Colossian believers. “So then, just as
you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live
your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in
him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing
with thankfulness.” Amen
[1] http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/entitlement-tim-smith-sermon-on-entitlement-176782.asp?Page=2
