Entitlement

Over the past couple of months, I have been thinking a whole lot about how we always tend to think that we have certain entitlements in life. Whether we're talking about money, gifts, food, or even how people treat us, we tend to think that we deserve something. When it comes to Christmas, there have been times where I think I deserve the gifts that I receive and if I don't get enough, then I believe that I should have gotten more. Or when I have been in relationships in the past, I think that there is a certain way that a girl needs to treat me if she wants the relationship to continue. I know...that sounds absolutely horrible, and a lot of you are thinking, "Poor Ali!" but I assure you, I think I have gotten a lot better as of late.

But think of it this way. What would be your thought if your parents didn't get you a birthday present this year? How would you feel if your boyfriend or girlfriend didn't get you anything for Valentine's Day this year? I think it's easy to get drawn into the mentality of, "Hey, I deserve something here!" However, the more I read through the Bible, it becomes more evident to me that we really aren't all that deserving of that much of anything. In fact, the general idea in the Bible is that when good things happen to us, it's pretty much only by the grace of God.

What this means is that we need a change in perspective, one in which we understand that there is a lot more out there than our wants and desires. Don't hear me say that we should never have desires, I don't believe that at all. But I do believe that none of us are really entitled to anything in this world. Instead of thinking about what we deserve, whether it's with our friends, family, significant others or even strangers, let's begin to think about how we can better serve and give ourselves to others instead. I think this is the attitude that Christ had and it's one that we should adopt in our own lives. Think of what our youth group would look like if we decided to serve others with everything that we have!

-Ernie