Entitlement
I’ve been thinking about entitlement.
Recently someone shared with me that the newest generation of young adults have a greater sense of entitlement than ever before. Immediately after hearing this information, my mind went to the negative. “How dare these kids think that they can just come in and take charge?” I thought somewhat obtusely.
But of course this is not a negative thing, unless one is power hungry. Generations before me loved their power and loved to be in charge, but this is not the way of the future – the way of the kingdom of God.
So now I think, “what is it about my path that allowed me to flourish and be in a place where I can fulfill God’s purpose for my life?” There are several reasons why, and I want an opportunity to give that sense of fulfillment to others who are going behind me. I don’t need to ‘hold power’ or be the big cheese. That sense of entitlement for One greater than I. But I do want to enable and entitle others to come along side me and take what I’m doing to the next level for the glory of God.
So I think back to the places that I have thrived the most. And here are some of the things that God used to guide me to the place I am today.
1) I was given a sense of real ownership to invest in what I was doing.
Under my first pastor here, it was music. I was to take this ministry and build something. If it failed, it was on me. That’s a lot of pressure, but I loved it! I worked hard at building something from nothing, and had to use the gifts God had given me to unite a team of musicians. There were times I was successful, and there were times I failed miserably. But when given the chance, I grew like I had never grown before. And I grew within the umbrella of the church strategy. A lot of freedom – a little rope.
2) If I failed, the world was not coming to an end.
Under both of my mentors in the last 10 years, I was given a chance to fail. Once again, if I had some boundaries in which to work from, and I understood the vision of the church, I could make decisions that many pastors would not have allowed me to make, and sometimes I failed miserably. But they always asked if I learned from that mistake, and life went on as normal. One time (in 1999), I decided to briefly skip away from the songs we had been doing and to try the hymn player the church invested in years before I arrived at the church. The experiment was a complete flop! I’m surprised I wasn’t laughed out of the building, but I learned from that mistake and tried again. This is what I felt I could do because I had been given permission to fail.
Later on, Lonnie the football player/pastor allowed me to flourish in areas like small groups and even writing my own church strategy (which we eventually implemented here at the FC). This was years of planning and failing, but ultimately, it was work I was proud of by the finish line.
3) I always had a mentor.
During times of success in my ministry/job, I was always mentored properly. A strong relationship had been built with these men who gently (and sometimes not so gently) guided me to help me figure out how to get to where I needed to go. They poured into me, not only on a boss-employee level, but on a friendship level as well. Oh they were always the boss, there was never any doubt about that, but the way they poured into me helped me to realize that I was never alone. That screamed success to me.
I hope that people who come after me in my work and ministry, will do so with a sense of entitlement and respect. And I hope that generation is the generation that will continue to bring on the Kingdom of God to this world that so badly needs Him.
So what’s up? Are you entitled?
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It’s hard to quanitfy these sort of claims… but…
When I was an adolescent, I heard all the time that my generation was entitled.
As I moved into my late twenties, I heard that the next generation was entitled.
As I moved into my thirties, I heard that the generation following that one was entitled.
As a teacher, I continue to hear it now, that I’m in my late-mid-thirties. This generation is the most entitled ever.
You don’t have to look very hard at the generation before mine to hear that the baby boomers are entitled…
I suppose it’s conceptually possible that every single generation has been even worse than the generation before. But it just doesn’t seem likely.
For me to buy into these claims, I’d be interested in something more than anecdotal evidence around the question of entitlement.
(I realize that your post wasn’t really pointed in this direction, but sentences that start with “back in my day” are kind of a pet peeves, so it was the claim that you heard that I reacted to most strongly. Perhaps later I’ll have an oppurtunity to comment on the actual bulk of your post.)
Marty – this is a great post! I agree with all of the reasons that you outlined. Especially having a mentor, I have found to be great. Let me caveat that with a mentor who’s not afraid to be brutally honest with me and hold me accountable – what a difference that makes!
One of the things that I have been studying lately is that God is the one who provides us with influence based on our faithfulness and stewardship in what He’s given us an opportunity to do. In Psalsm 78:70-72, It was God who chose David and brought him out of the sheepfolds and brought him to the palace. But, it was what David did when no one else saw him that opened a door for him to walk in the destiny that God had for him. Saul was vexed by an evil spirit and he was looking for someone skillful with a harp. One of Saul’s servants said that he had seen David playing the harp and that servant helped bring David into the palace. That rocks!
Entitlement is a cool concept too. We need to not carry ourselves with a great sense of personal entitlement; however, we do not to walk in faith (with an air of entitlement) to possess the spiritual things that God has promised to us. There are some things that we are Biblically entitled to have, enjoy, and walk in.
Great post my friend – looking forward to getting together sometime soon. God bless!