BATTLING A SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT (Joshua 17:12-18)
This morning we are going to look at a biblical story which shares with us
about the culture of entitlement.
But to get us started, I want to share a story about a college grad who couldn't
find a job, so she sued her college for her tuition.
A New York Post article states that Trina Thompson went to college to boost her chances
of finding a great job once she got out of school, but now that that hasn't happened,
she wants her money back.
Thompson, a graduate of Monroe College, is suing her school for the $70,000 she spent on
tuition because she hasn't found solid employment since receiving her bachelor's
degree last April.
She said the business school in the Bronx didn't do enough to help her find a job, so
she wants a refund.
She also said that the school's Career Advancement office did not live up to its end
of the deal because it didn't offer her the leads & employment as it promised.
We live at a time which is sometimes called the age of entitlement. In other words it is a
time when people feel that they are entitled to (or are owed) various benefits.
Many expect the government to give us handouts for education, job training, healthcare,
retirement, and much more.
- Teens feel entitled to a new car when they turn 16
- People entering the workforce feel entitled to start at the top
- Workers who just don't like their jobs feel entitled to unemployment when they quit
and feel they should be given handouts until they find something that "suits" them.
- Millionaires and celebrities feel entitled to special treatment from businesses and from
the legal system
- Consumers feel entitled to sue any time a product or service doesn't work the way
they thought it should work.
- Other countries seem to feel entitled to large aid packages from the United States.
In truth, even the persistent disregard for the Word of God is due largely to this sense of
entitlement. People feel entitled to interpret the Bible however we want to interpret it. They
believe they are entitled to fashion their own belief system (translate that "gods").
We'll see this morning that this sense of entitlement is not something new. As we read
through Joshua 17 we recognize that sense of entitlement in the time of Joshua.
The context of the passage is the time of the disbursement of the land to the various tribes
of Israel. The major strongholds had been demolished and now the land was divided and the
people were to finish taking the land and then to settle in that land.
The land was distributed by lot (like drawing names from a hat). The leaders believed that
God determined who received what parcel of land. In Joshua 17 we learn that the tribe of
Manasseh felt they were entitled to more land than they were originally given.
In verse 14 the people of Joseph said, "Why have you given us
only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people and the LORD
has blessed us abundantly."
In verse 16 they added, "The hill country is not enough for us,
and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and
its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel."
The people of Manasseh joined with some of the tribe of Ephraim (both were sons of Joseph)
and complain to Joshua. Most likely Ephraim was enlisted to help because Joshua was from the
tribe of Ephraim. They thought it would give them more leverage.
The arguments for more land were:
- They were a numerous people.
- They were abundantly blessed. (in other words God thought they were special)
- The people who live in the valley are too strong.
On the surface it sounds like a reasonable request. However, the truth is that the tribe of
Manasseh was really the sixth largest tribe (of 12). If you look at a map of the twelve
tribes you see that they were given a very large lot of land (it would have been more
understandable if others had been the ones complaining).
In addition, half of the tribe of Manasseh was given a generous portion of land (per their
request) on the eastern side of the Jordan River. They had actually been very blessed yet
they felt entitled to more!
Recently on the program Judge Judy a mother was petitioning to get $4000.00 from her son. He
had borrowed the money (which mom put on her credit card) to buy a car. This was the third
loan given to the young man. The other two, taken from mom's life savings, had been
forgiven. This one resulted in the credit card company pursuing mom for the money. The
son's response: "I shouldn't have to pay her back
because the last car she bought me was no good!"
The Christian community is not immune from this kind of thing. There are large segments of
Christian teaching that tell us that God wants us to be rich, healthy, and successful (according
to the world's standards).
As a result, we have Christians who believe they are entitled to a new car, a big home, and
all the other things that the world calls success. We are told that we should "step out
in faith" and expect God to provide. We are even told to "expect a miracle"
(which leads inevitably to the idea of demanding a miracle). There is indeed a sense of
spiritual entitlement.
Certainly, God does bless His people. He has even blessed many through the years with
prosperity and power. God does do miracles.
However, there are people all around the world who are more faithful than we are and yet
materially they have very little. There are people who endure great physical trials yet
possess a faith that is deeper than we are able to understand.
These people do not feel entitled to worldly blessings... they have discovered the blessing
of intimacy with God which is better than anything the world can give us.
Somehow we seem to have come to believe that we deserve God's blessing or that He owes us
something. If God doesn't deliver we seem to feel that He has let us down.
How foolish! The Bible gives us a different picture of our situation.
We are told that we are people who have fallen far short of God's standard of perfection.
The doctrine of the sinfulness of man is one doctrine that we can verify simply by looking
around us. God has given us a gift we do not deserve. He has extended a forgiveness we did not
earn. God does not owe us... we owe Him!
Also this notion of demanding God's blessing is contrary to the teaching of Jesus:
- At the Passover meal Jesus took the role of the servant and washed the feet of His disciples,
even though protocol said they should wash his feet. He told his followers that they
should follow His example of humility and service.
- Jesus told a parable in Luke 14:7-11 that said that when you go to a feast you should choose
the lowest seat rather than clamoring for the most important seat. Jesus warns that those
who seek the more significant positions may be embarrassed when someone more important comes
along. Jesus' principle "For everyone who exalts himself
will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." [Luke 14:11]
- In Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus said to his disciples, "You know
that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority
over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant,27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave,
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many."
- Paul said, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ
Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death
on a cross! [Philippians 2:5-8]
Jesus did not call us to demand our rights; in fact He seemed to teach that we should be willing
to surrender our rights for the sake of the gospel.
Jesus didn't teach us to gather stuff, He told us to give it away to help others.
He did not teach us to demand from others, He taught us to give of ourselves to others.
He taught us that joy does not come from material things. True joy comes from resting in Him.
A SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT CAUSES US TO BE LAZY
We are told, "the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns,
for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13
However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did
not drive them out completely." (17:12-13)
Manasseh had been given a job to do. Instead of driving the Canaanites out of the area they made
them their servants. They did not do what they were told and they wanted Joshua (or God) to
compensate them for what they failed to do.
It is like giving somebody money for not working (when they could work); or giving someone a good
grade even though they didn't meet the requirements. When that happens, the people don't
work harder; they do even less!
In our spiritual lives, a sense of entitlement leads us to be lazy in our faith.
We want a relationship with God that doesn't require any work. We build churches and wait for
people to come to us. We get our devotions e-mailed to us (so we don't even have to open the
Bible). Our prayers our sentence requests as we rush here and there. We want intimacy with God
without having to put out any effort.
We must never think that we can receive God's blessings if we ignore the means by which God
has ordained for us to obtain those blessings.
In Joshua's day the people wanted God's blessing without doing what God commanded.
They wanted his blessing without any sense of obligation. True discipleship however, involves
a real change.
Paul warned Timothy, "There will be terrible times in the
last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous,
without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with them." [2 Timothy 3:1-5]
These are convicting words. Paul seems to be describing our society. His analysis is that
we have "a form of godliness but denying its power."
These are believers in name only. They play the part; wear the badge; but the transforming
power of God is missing.
In the conquest of the Promised Land, God conquered the Canaanites. He destroyed their
strongholds and then he told the people that He would help them finish the work.
Our salvation is much the same way, God gives us His grace freely due to nothing that we have
done. We are made children of God by God's activity not our own. Now He calls us to grow
in grace and to become holy as we "work out our salvation". The Bible calls us to
be diligent!
Notice how Joshua responded to the request from Manasseh and Ephraim.
First, to the claim that they were numerous and especially significant and therefore needed
more space, Joshua responded,15
"If you are so numerous," Joshua answered, "and if the hill country of
Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in
the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites."
In other words, "if you are so special, go clear the land that is available to you!"
Second, to the claim that the hills were not enough and the valley was filled with Canaanites
who were strong, Joshua said, 17
"But Joshua said to the house of Joseph - to Ephraim and Manasseh - "You are numerous
and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment 18 but
the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the
Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out."
Joshua said to these people, "Look, you only get one allotment
but there is all kinds of room for you to expand. And as for the Canaanites, since you are so
strong, go and defeat them!"
Joshua understood that catering to indulgent people does not help them in the slightest. It
only serves to make them even lazier. The best way to handle a person who suffers from a
sense of entitlement is to make them work for what they want!
When we require responsibility, we are helping people stand on their own feet. We are helping
them to be free and responsible adults. This is actually a greater act of love that giving
people what they want.
Why not require your children to do something to earn their allowance? Why not make them
buy their own toys? Why not have them pay the difference between the adequate jeans and
the designer jeans they "have to have"?
Why not ask the person getting public funds to do something before they receive it? Where
did we get this notion that loving means giving someone everything they want? Is this
really love, or is it just easier than helping someone learn to live responsibly?
In much the same way, dumbing down the truth of the gospel doesn't help anyone.
Lowering God's standards of holiness is not helpful. Redefining or excusing sin may
make people like you more, but it is not a loving act.
Such actions actually hinder a person's intimacy with God. It makes them think they
are close to God when they are actually moving in the other direction!
God's standards are not ours to negotiate. We don't help anyone when we water
down God's truth.
So how do we combat this rampant mentality in our society? Here are some simple principles.
Yes there are many lazy people in the world. There will always be people who feel the
world owes them something. However, there are times when people need real help and they
cannot do for themselves. Our job is to help these people in any way that we can.
Life as we know it is not fair. Some people seem to have it easier than others... and
I don't know why. God does not treat everyone the same. He raises some up and not
others. Why? I don't know. Dare I say it? You are not entitled to what everyone
else has! God does not owe you anything! On the contrary, we owe Him everything.
We must stop playing the part of a victim!
People used to talk about the Protestant work ethic. It was an attitude that believed
that God has placed us where we are in the world so that we can honor and glorify Him.
No matter what the job, we work at it with all our heart as to the Lord. Work is not
a necessary evil, it is our mission field.
Have you ever taken a picture at a baseball game and ended up with a great picture of the
fence in focus but the ballplayer (which is what you were shooting) ends up a little
blurred. It's because the camera focused on the wrong spot.
We can do the same thing...
- We should focus on being like Jesus rather than the "successful people" of
our world. He is our goal not the man in the smile and $1000.00 suit.
- We should focus on what we can do for others instead of what others can do for us.
- We should focus on helping people to manage on their own rather than simply throwing
money at them.
- We should measure ourselves by the Word of God rather than measuring the Word of God
by our thoughts and desires.
Manasseh was unwilling to rest in what God had given. If we want to avoid the entitlement
trap we should trust God's providence in our lives. We should be grateful for what we
have and trust that God knows what we need and when we need it.
We will all tend to hear these concerns and immediately think about all the people we wish
had been here to hear this message. However, we are the ones who need to take this
message to heart.
Our challenge is to stop living our lives feeling that somehow we have been cheated or
deprived. Like Manasseh, we need to realize the blessing we have received and live instead
with gratitude and contentment.
So, to that end, here are some suggestions:
- Start each day
thanking God for all that He has given you: a new day of life; His mercy and grace; your
family; your health; His promises in the Word of God; a purpose in living. Be specific.
Look for opportunities to thank people for their work and the blessing they have given you.
- rather than focusing on what you think you deserve from others.
- Notice the sense of entitlement they have and determine to be different.
- Practice
spiritual discipline. Make time to read the Word. Work at prayer. Be good stewards of what
you have. Read a challenging Christian book... stop demanding to be spoon fed.
- When you hear yourself
say or think about what you "deserve", stop and ask yourself why you think you
"deserve" these things.
- Help
them to understand that the world does not revolve around them now so that they will not
be shocked when it doesn't revolve around them later.
- Learn to gladly
receive what God has given to you. Enjoy life as it is rather than longing for a day when
things will be better.
We may never change that attitude of entitlement that people seem to have but we can change
our attitude.
- We can choose to focus on what we have been given by a gracious God.
- We can diligently pursue humility, holiness and service.
- We can learn to be content and we can learn to be thankful.
- We can learn to be givers rather than takers.
And if we do this, our relationship with God... and with others, will be enriched.
Yes, to live a lifestyle of promise, we must battle the sense of entitlement that is within
each one of us.