I remember all the hard work I did to set up the program. I worked tirelessly making sure every detail was right. It was my baby. What happened next was devastating. Someone else was selected to direct and lead the group. I felt I was entitled to do the lead. My reaction at first was not to rejoice with the person who was taking the lead. How will she know the emotion of each character in the play? How will she put it all together, for I knew the heart and soul of each character in the play? I was jealous. My attitude of entitlement or thinking I deserved it made me act irrationally. Maybe you’ve had similar experiences.

Entitlement, the word itself is dangerous, especially among believers. Entitlement states a personality characteristic based on the belief that someone deserves special treatment or recognition for something they didn’t earn. It is the fact of having a right to something. It is the belief that we deserve privileges or special treatment, or that we have the right to something. We see it prevalent in our culture today. However, it should never be a characteristic of a believer. Why is entitlement dangerous? Because it is a direct rebellion toward God. James 4:1-2 states this type of thinking is the root cause of wars, fights, and divisions. It is pride and God hates it. Entitlement can take, distract, and weaken us…keeping us from being the very people God created us to be. More importantly, is this mentality is the opposite of God. Entitlement can block you from knowing Jesus in a personal way. 

What I saw after examining myself with the Word of God was a tough pill to swallow. I tended to adopt goals based on my self-image, often leading me into conflict with others. While I was able to put up an exterior of being nice and well-mannered on the outside, deep down inside this is not how I truly felt about myself or other individuals around me. I saw destructive symptoms such as fear, (the root of pride), entitlement, people-pleasing, and rebellion just to name a few. So, let me share what God shared with me to change my heart and my life. Praise God!

As Christians, we have few rights other than those described in scripture, such as what Paul describes in Romans 4:4-6: “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.  And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.” Jesus paid our debt. We owe Him our EVERYTHING. It is not what we deserve, it is about grace and the cross. I believe we all at one time or another felt a false impression that we deserve more than we deserve.

Choosing humility means I take time to have a good look at myself as His child. It also means I keep my heart open to being teachable, willing to see where I can change my thinking and actions to line up with God’s Word. This is allowing God’s transforming power to grow me. When you feel entitled, you want to control, you’re oriented around self-importance and personal visibility. A posture of humility is the opposite because it sees self-importance as secondary to a bigger mission. A mission of genuinely loving and serving other people. Upon seeking God, I was able to go back and see all the elements at play as a team in casting the play that I wrote. There was no need to worry about me having the lead or belief that I was the most qualified person to do the job. I was able to lay it down and acknowledge the unique abilities of everyone on the team. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and observe yourself honestly.

When we feel entitled, we defy and insult God. Our arrogance and disrespect to God acknowledge the fact that we don’t need Him, and are in opposition to God’s commands. Truly, you are not surrendered to Him. Example: When people think of themselves as superior, anything that challenges their worldview is met with defensiveness and anger. This creates a vicious cycle: the more they are challenged by society’s limitations, the angrier they become at these injustices. I see this every day in politics. It can’t be both ways if you name Christ as Lord and Savior. The focus must be on Him and everything else is secondary.

Ephesians 4:1-32 describes what the Christian mindset should be. “I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift…”

God measures significance by faithfulness, not success. We are to consistently follow God’s call for our life and leave the results to Him. We are called to be faithful servants of God and stewards of God’s truth. James 4:6 – But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. And Proverbs 16:18-19 tells us, “Pride comes before destruction and an arrogant spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud. God blessed David with riches of all kinds and feeling entitled to everything his pride led him to adultery. Therefore, be thankful for every little thing even if it’s not much.

We’re living in a culture where everyone wants rights to which they believe they’re entitled. We think we can do everything on our own. Many people in this day and age do not have a clear biblical idea of what it means to be humble. If you are a believer in Christ, ask yourself honestly the following questions. Do I pray every day,? Am I selfish? Has pride blinded my eyes to my sin? Am I resistant toward the Word of God or spiritual leaders He has placed in my life? Do I forgive others? Do I have a hypocritical spirit where I elevate my status? Do I believe I am always right? Do I easily find fault in others?

“Godly humility starts when we see things as they really are, and realize that God is the Creator of the universe and the standard by which everything is measured or evaluated.” So true humility is a person’s obedience to God. The humble person lovingly and honestly obeys God, not like the Pharisees, who only made a show of obeying God, but omitted important parts of the Law such as mercy and justice (Matt. 23:23), “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

Jesus Christ is the model of humility and a good description of this is found in Philippians 2:5-8, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus  who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God^, But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men  and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus’s life models the example of humility. Who is the man that thinks he is entitled, that he controls this world and his environment to his satisfaction? This thinking is a blatant sin and will be judged by God. If there was ever anyone who was rightfully entitled, it is Jesus Christ. He was and is God.  Yet, innocent, He took our punishment of death.  He did not defend Himself.  He did not seek out His rights.  He did not throw a temper tantrum. He was not screaming and yelling all the way to Calvary inciting the crowds to a demonstration.

Today is no different than the Greek and Roman culture in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees and Kings like King Herod were strong-willed and bullied their way through life to have power and be on top. They were privileged and honored only those of like mind, looking down on all others. This is seen in Luke 14:7-14. You know the parable about the wedding banquet. 7 “He told a parable to those who were invited when he noticed how they would choose the best places for themselves: 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t sit in the place of honor, because a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by your host. 9 The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place…..” The closer you sat to the host, the higher you stood on the social ladder and the more attention you would receive. They wanted to be important. The humble person recognizes that he or she is a servant to everyone and is comfortable with the seating and the people he or she is close to. In contrast, the person who is not humble, but prideful and self-important, is upset at the company close by and wants to be with “more important” people. Humility simply put is not thinking about ourselves at all.

You will know when you are growing in humility: When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances…that is dying to self. Or, when you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart. When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or to record your own good works, or itch after commendations, when you can truly love to be unknown.

I have my rights! I can do what I want! And I will stand up for those rights, no matter who I may victimize in the process. That is scary. Always thinking about ourselves and no one else leaves deep scars, and it leads to senseless shootings, separated families, snide remarks and sin so bold that it’s terrifying to even the ungodly. And until we see it for what it is, it won’t change. Those arguments over politics, freedom of speech, mask wearing, religious freedom (or you name it) are due to a prevalent sense of entitlement that’s creeped not just into our culture, but the Church as well. These attitudes are not just because we have a difference of opinion, but because we feel entitled. This is not of God, but is the works of satan.

Well as I share previously it was a tough pill to swallow. I had walked with blinders on my eyes because I was so consumed with Sybil. Until you stop and look inside your heart through the scriptures you will continue to feel entitled and far from God. Developing and maintaining a humble heart takes constant work and great courage. If we are not careful, our sinful nature will rise within us and produce pride and an entitlement attitude that will then be quickly followed by other sins.  I fight the temptation of entitlement every day. Yes, it is hard to be humble, but God deserves it, so as Paul wrote, “…we make it our goal to please Him……”2 Corinthians 5:9. God will give us the power if we’re faithful. He did it for me, He can do it for you. Will you start this year surrendered to His will with a humble heart and walk of obedience? Humility is the thing that will destroy the entitlement mentality. We all struggle with pride and probably will not get it all together in this life, but we can sure try. You can ask yourself every day what your motives are behind the things you do.

Where there is humility, there is peace. If the world feels out of control, it’s because the world is busy demanding its own way. James 3:17, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.”(CSB). Giving up our so-called rights is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of godliness. It begins with us. God can’t wait to pour out His great grace on the humble. So let’s not waste another day feeling entitled, but instead let us walk humbly with our God in every decision we make. Amen!

“For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” C.S. Lewis