I have the same rights as you do. I have a right to eat a piece of chocolate cake if I want to. I have a right to state my opinion and be heard. I have a right to protect myself against harm. Not to mention we are blessed with the right to practice religion and carry our Bibles around and gather for prayer and uphold the name of Jesus (at least for now).
But what happens when a society turns inward for too long -focusing on their wants, needs and desires more than anyone else? What happens when self-focus becomes the prescribed way of life?
A sense of entitlement begins to fester and brood and bleed into culture and does not fear God. I have my rights and 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 and separated family and snide remarks, along with sin so bold that it’s terrifying even to the point of being ungodly.
These attitudes are not just because we have a different opinion, but because we feel entitled.
It doesn’t stop there though. Entitlement is festering into the family with disrespectful children who think they have a right to act however they want because parents have never reprimanded their children, they we never told no, or had consequences for their bad behaviors. Teachers have no control in the classroom because of entitlement. The marriage bed has lost its sanctity because of entitlement. Babies are being aborted because of entitlement.
Bottom mention road rage violence, senseless lawsuits, senseless arguments, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, division, and envy. James (or Jacob 3:16 says, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”
The truth is we need a reality check. We are not entitled to anything. There is only One who is entitled and He is the Lord God. He created the world and holds it together. He formed us, breathing life where there was none. Therefore, God alone is entitled to all glory and honor from all of creation and from all people, with every breath we take.
“There is none like You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours. All the nations You gave made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous things, You alone are God” -Psalm 89:8-10
He alone is God, yet when we walk around with a sense of entitlement blanketing our thoughts, emotions, and reactions, we put ourselves in the place of God. We buy into the same lie that the serpent spoke to Eve. We’re entitled to break the rules when we want to decide for ourselves what’s best for us.
Chaos is the result of believing this lie, just as it was on the day of Adam and Eve’s initial sin. When we demand that God do this or that for us and He doesn’t, it becomes chaos for us. When we walk into a family gathering and push our rights over this ot that, it’s not only chaos for our relationships but chaos in our hearts.
I believe the only way to find peace in the chaos is humility. When there is humility, there is peace. If the world feels out of control, it’s because the world is busy demanding its own way. And if our world feels out of control, perhaps it’s because we have been busy demanding our own way.
James (Jacob) 3:17 tells us, “For the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”
At the core of it all God wants us to release everything and submit to Him. Having a relationship with Him involved surrendering our will and desires to Him. To trust in His plan, which leads to peace and a greater sense of purpose. His plan is better than our own and is a pathway to finding peace, and wisdom.
Giving up our so-called rights is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of godliness. It’s the way of Jesus, who endured the cross for us. Getting what we want when we want doesn’t give us joy. Lying down our rights for the sake of God’s will and God’s way is what produces joy in our hearts.
We don’t need to demand that it’s our way or the highway, because we have a God who is just and faithful and sovereign and sees which works are done for His glory and which are not.
James 4:6, 10 tells us that, “God oppresses the proud, but gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Living with an attitude of entitlement will get us nowhere. It is not God’s way. It squelches the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and sends us down all kinds of prideful paths. But laying down our rights as Jesus did, the glory of God, and the name of God will give us hope, and fill us to overflowing.
Fighting this epidemic of entitlement begins with us. Whether that means not being mad when someone takes the parking spot you wanted or lying down our precious alone time or asking God to help us forgive that one family member who hurt us, and realizing we can because we have a sovereign God who went first.
Yes, we have our rights, but so did Jesus, who chose to give up everything for us. We can choose to walk humbly with God in every decision we make.
From Pity to Praise 