But where does this belief come from and is it really the truth? I am told I am entitled to more money than the people who work under me, because I went to college and "deserve" it. So perhaps I was born with more brains and opportunities than them. Maybe they had the same opportunities and did not take advantage of them or maybe they didn't have the same gifts and circumstances. Is my sense of entitlement really necessary, or am I just trying to justify the idea that I deserve more when I actually don't.
So what are we entitled to? At one point we are all equal...the moment of birth. At that time some people are born with more genetic gifts than others, or into a better environment. Some people are even born with a blood line that makes them "royalty". Or some "needy" people feel entitled because of their plight. Over time, most of us come to believe that some people are entitled to more than others for a multitude of reasons.
Who deserves what? And who decides? I don't know the answer to that. But I do know that a sense of "entitlement" has the potential to do great harm at any level. What do I deserve? Perhaps the consequences of my actions, but even that is not a given.
No, I am not entitled to anything. ALL of it has been given to me by God, including my freedom to use or abuse it. I don't know why some are born with "less", or why life isn't fair. But I believe anyone rich or poor, lucky or unlucky, who carries an attitude of entitlement...will never know God.
"Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last." Luke 13:30
