Entitlements are nothing new to the world. People back in Old Testament times thought they were entitled people because of who they were or what the Lord had promised them.
We are told in Joshua 17 about the descendants of Joseph arguing over land that God had promised and given to them. The people of Manasseh joined with the tribe of Ephraim and asked Joshua for more land because they were numerous in numbers and didn’t have enough space. They wanted more even though they said their numbers were large they actually were the sixth largest tribe and didn’t do what they were told to do. They became lazy and wanted someone to give them something instead of them working for it.
This is much like the world today. There are many who believe the world owes them something even though they have many opportunities to earn a living they would rather sit back and have someone serve them. Many in the Christian community feel this way also. Some Christians believe that God wants us to be rich and healthy. Many believe that we are to be successful according to the world’s standard of living. They feel they are entitled to worldly things such as a new car, big homes, and successful careers. We expect God to provide these things because we step out in faith.
Why do people feel they should have worldly pleasures through spiritual entitlement? God does bless His people as He has through the history of the world, however many look for the blessings in all the wrong places. There are many people around the world with more faith in God than we have and they have very little or few material possessions.
Why is it that we believe that we deserve blessings from God because He owes us something? God gave us a perfect world but because we fell for Satan’s lies we created our destiny of death.
Even though we are sinful people Jesus set the example that we are to follow. He asks us to humble ourselves and serve others just as He did at the Passover meal when He served His disciples and washed their feet. He told us in Luke 14:11, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
God does not owe us anything but we owe Him everything. Spiritually speaking we have fallen short of God’s standard and listened to the ways of the world. Many in today’s society think the world owes them something when very few of them have contributed to anything. I am not saying the sick or physically handicapped doesn’t deserve our help because they surely do but there are many that want the entitlements from the world that don’t deserve them.
Many of us think we deserve our spiritual entitlements because of the works we do but that is not what God is asking of us. He has extended to us His forgiveness not because we earned it but because we repent of our sins and ask Him for it.
Many demand their rights because it is the way the world teaches us. God asks us to surrender our rights for the sake of the gospel. He teaches us to give to others instead of demanding from others. He also teaches us that material possessions are temporary but His love and eternal peace is everlasting.
Do you believe that your salvation is an entitlement from God? The only way that you gain your salvation and eternal life with Him is through your confession of sins and asking Him into your heart. Once you do this then the ways of the world become secondary and the work of the Lord becomes a priority!
