The entitlement attitude is all around us. From people at work who think they are entitled to a raise when they hardly earn the wage they currently receive to slick politicians who, in the name of taking up the cause of the disadvantaged, convince huge voting blocks of people that the government owes them a living. From slick advertisements that claim, "You deserve it," and "You're worth it," to educational and media elitists who believe their ideas should be above question because they occupy positions of inflated prestige.

Tina Blue writes on her website, Who's Minding the Children,(1) that when a certain six year old boy came in and seriously announced to her and the other children at her daycare that he was the most special kid there because the moon followed him wherever he went, she immediately saw the need for some loving correction. "Actually, it follows all of us," she told the boy. "It just looks like it follows everyone because it's so big in the sky that we all can see it wherever we go." She explains that her reason for popping this child's bubble was in her words, that "he already thought he was king of the world and that the world revolved around him." She knew that the boy already had an attitude of entitlement. She explains that he was a "self-centered little tyrant" (her words) that didn't get along with anyone other than herself and the kids at her daycare. The other children didn't like him because when he didn't get his way he would lord it over them and tattle on them. Her concern was not to hurt him but to help him have a little more accurate (and perhaps humble) assessment of himself.

Maybe you've met a child like this. He or she has been told how special they are to the point that they believe they are entitled to royal treatment from everyone around them and when they don't receive it, they raise a stink. Their "high-pitched, nasal whine," writes Tina Blue, is, in her words, "the voice of perpetual outraged entitlement."

In the days before the positive self image idea over the realm of child rearing experts, there was another word used for this type of child. It's rather simplistic, I suppose, but I'll bet you know it. People used to call such a child "spoiled" or a "spoiled brat." Give him everything he wants, tell him from the time he is old enough to understand that he is better than everyone else, and very soon he believes it and holds so tightly to his distorted self-image that no one around him can stand to be with him. It's his way or the tantrum begins.

Nearly everyone goes through a developmental phase of self-centeredness that we call the "terrible twos," but it is also generally understood that a gross sense of self-centered entitlement is something we're supposed to outgrow. Yet today the entitlement attitude is alive and well, not only among children, but also among adults.

Several weeks ago, a couple of our deacons interviewed a man who came to the church building looking for some financial help. They took the man into my office and graciously listened to his story (which, of course, they had no way of knowing whether it was really true). Then they discussed among themselves what they might be willing to do to help the man. I was elsewhere in the building talking to someone and when I finished up I joined them in the office just as they were finishing up and telling the man what they were willing to do to help him. Without asking for any verification of his story, they had offered him $50 and told him that it was a gift from the members of the congregation to help him with his trouble. Apparently he was offended by the size of the gift. All three of us were shocked when, before he accepted the money, he said, "Could you make it $90?" Not, "Thanks for the gift," but "You didn't give me enough. My present circumstances entitle me to more."

The entitlement attitude is all around us. From people at work who think they are entitled to a raise when they hardly earn the wage they currently receive to slick politicians who, in the name of taking up the cause of the disadvantaged, convince huge voting blocks of people that the government owes them a living. From slick advertisements that claim, "You deserve it," and "You're worth it," to educational and media elitists who believe their ideas should be above question because they occupy positions of inflated prestige.

Our English word "entitlement" comes from a Latin word that means, "to be provided for." Of course it carries a lot more meaning than that. Included in the meaning of the word "entitlement" as I'm using it in this message is the idea that "you owe me," and "I have it coming," and "how dare anyone not give me what I desire."

Entitlement is the polar opposite of gratitude. It takes the goodwill of a gift and turns it around into an obligation pressed by the one who feels entitled. It says, "Don't you know who I am?" "Don't you know that I'm special and that I deserve special treatment?" It is offended when it does not receive the level of attention it desires. It’s the teenager who protests when his parents won't buy him the latest and most stylish pair of tennis shoes or that bright red sports car. It’s the wealthy man who feels others must serve him because of his financial status. (Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16? Even in hades the rich man is saying, "Send Lazarus that he may dip his finger in water and cool off my tongue for I am in agony in this flame." He was used to being served and even in hades he hadn't given up on it.) But it isn't only the rich. A poor man can whip up a pretty good head of entitlement, too. He's "entitled" because he is "disadvantaged" and "disenfranchised" and has nothing. Not always, of course, but sometimes, especially in this country with so much opportunity available to those who will work hard, his entitlement becomes his own, self-made prison as his resentment burns up all the energy God has given him to work and make his own way.

Sadly, the entitlement attitude is behind much of what is today called "the church growth movement." Many "experts" who claim to be in the know these days have gone out to poll their non-believing neighbors to ask them what it would take to get them to come to church. Then they take the resultant list and use it to shape the face of the church assembly. Thrown out are any considerations of what the Bible teaches or how God might feel and in their place, in the name of "growth" comes an assembly that is modeled not on the basis of what God wants but on the basis of what unbelievers want. Anything deemed "foolish" or "offensive" to non-believers is removed. (Hasn't anyone ever read of the "offense of the cross?")(2) Then to complete the circle, attendees are stroked and told how important they are and what a benefit it is to God to have them. Solid Biblical teaching is replaced by self-help, non-offensive sermonettes and, of course, any churches that won't cater to this kind of entitlement are ridiculed and said to be backward and out of step. Naturally unbelievers eat this kind of treatment up as the entitlement attitude comes into line with their thoughts about God. Yet too often that’s where that word "spoiled" begins to come in. Whenever someone tries to approach a person who has been tutored by this kind of entitlement, it becomes very difficult to reach them with the Biblical gospel because they've been shown and told that they are the ones who are in the center rather than God. They are often offended and repulsed at the Bible's call to self-denial and surrender to the will of God.

Entitlement comes in all ages and in all walks of life. It pops up in the church sometimes, even among the faithful. And perhaps I can even say that it may not be very far away from any one of us if we don't stay sharp.

There is a series of teachings by Jesus in the early verses of Luke 17 that deal with behaviors and attitudes among God's people. One of those attitudes is entitlement. Verses 1-2 of the chapter address the danger of causing others to stumble. Verses 3-4 deal with the need to forgive. Verses 5-6 concern the need for faith. Then verses 7-10 (which I want to look at now) deal with this issue of entitlement, that is, believing that the more I serve God, the more He owes me.

Luke 17:7-10

These verses contain several critical truths that touch on this issue of entitlement. We'll take a look at them this morning, then consider their meaning in more detail in a couple of future messages. The first critical truth to understand from this passage then is that:

While we today are somewhat removed from the issue of involuntary servitude and the slavery that existed in the first century, this lesson need not be lost to us. As repulsive as it sounds, the idea of master and slave is important to our understanding. People became slaves in that day in either of two ways. Sometimes they were former enemies that had been conquered in war. More often though, especially among the Jews, they were people who could not pay their debts and thus, they became the property of their debtors. A slave in that day had no rights - not a single one. He belonged totally to his master. That the master would invite a slave to come in and eat immediately as he came out of the field as Jesus suggests here was very unlikely because the slave’s workday wasn't finished yet. Before he could eat he was expected to clean up, dress himself properly, serve his master first, then he could eat. There was no entitlement for such service.

That we are servants of God should come as no surprise to anyone who has understood the gospel. The apostles and early Christians referred to themselves frequently as "bond-servants of Jesus Christ."(3) Indeed, the confession we all must make in order to be saved is that we confess with our mouths Jesus as Lord.(4) The word "Lord" means "Master." God is the Master, we are the Servants. Some people forget this - especially people who have a tendency toward the entitlement attitude.

That's one of the big things wrong with the current marketing philosophy in churches around us. In a consumer driven economy the customer is always right. The marketer is the servant of the consumer. Those who are most successful in business are those who spare nothing in order make the customer happy. Customer satisfaction is the highest principle. While it may work and even (arguably) be a good thing in an economy based on free enterprise and competition, it is not supposed to be the driving force in the church. God is not a consumer item that anyone can buy in exchange for half-hearted allegiance from a fickle customer base. And the "customer" is not always right. In fact, in the case of the gospel, the "customer" is always wrong and cannot be saved until he admits to it!(5)

My friends, unless we get this master/servant order straightened out, we'll never see the inside of those pearly gates. If you have an attitude of entitlement when you think about God, if your relationship with Him is based only on what He can do for you, then I strongly encourage you to humble yourself and be saved while you still can. As Peter put it in 1 Peter 3:15, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart…." He is the Master. You and I are His servants.

A second critical truth from this passage that bears on the issue of entitlement is that:

Verse 9 of our text says,

"Wait a minute," someone says. "I thought we were supposed to be thankful. Is this teaching that God isn't thankful? Doesn't He practice what He preaches?"

If you say that, you're missing the point. The reason the master in this parable doesn't thank the servant is because he (the master) is not the one who is under obligation. That is Jesus' point. It is the slave's obligation to the master that makes the relationship. It isn't the other way around.

God doesn't owe us anything. And though He has promised to bless us with great reward us for our service, it isn't an obligation. He doesn't owe us anything – not even a "thank you" for our service. There is not a single thing we could ever do that would obligate God to us. Thus, we are not entitled to anything from Him - even if we could, as verse 10 suggests, do everything commanded of us (which we can't do) it would make no difference. God is not, nor will He ever be, anyone's debtor.

I fear that sometimes people deal with salvation as though their response to Him puts God under obligation to them. "I'm a penitent, baptized believer so God has to let me into His heaven. Furthermore, since I "accepted Jesus," I'm entitled to special treatment from Him and from His other followers because He won me to become one of his people. My, what a great prize I am." I'm exaggerating a little here, but I think you get the idea.

While there are clearly things that God says we must do in order to be saved, and God certainly does bless us and give us special treatment out of His goodness, let us never forget that it is not because He is under any kind of obligation to us. Nothing we might do, even something done in obedience to His commands, can obligate God to us. He is no one's debtor. He owes us nothing. We are entitled to nothing. After we've done everything required, we're still unworthy slaves. We've done only what we ought to have done. That He gives us salvation is only because, in His lovingkindness and grace, He wants to, not because He has to.

An entitlement attitude is sometimes what is behind our protests to God when trouble comes in our lives. When He allows suffering to come to us we are shocked and perhaps even a little upset that He would allow it. When things aren't going well, we think, "I don't understand what is going on. I faithfully serve God and this is what I get?" You see, when we think or say that, what we're really saying is "My faithfulness has indebted God to me. I serve Him and therefore He owes me a certain level of ease in my life."

As hard as it may be for a person going through troubles to see it, this is nothing more than the entitlement attitude raising its ugly head. As Master, God has every right to allow us to suffer for Him when He deems it necessary to His purpose and we have no right to protest. Nor should we think that God is somehow withholding something that is our due. God doesn't owe us anything. We deserve nothing good. If we got what we deserved, we'd be in hell.

Having said these things, of course, we do have assurance from Him in passages like Romans 8:28 that there is always purpose in our suffering and that when He allows it, it will always be for our ultimate good. He will also provide a way of escape that we might be able to endure it. But this is a blessing, not an obligation. God is no one’s debtor.

"Well then," someone says, "Why should I knock myself out to serve Him?"

There are rewards for serving God through Christ. Don't think that there aren't. It's just that these are given by God's grace to those who love Him and serve Him willingly, not because we have them coming. If it were by any other means than by grace - if suddenly God were to go to a system of merit, the guilt of our sins would instantly cancel out every good thing we've ever done or ever will do.

God is no one's debtor.

A third critical truth from this passage that applies to the issue of entitlement is not said in so many words, but it certainly in implied:

Look again at verse 10:

In this parable there is no possible way that the slave can merit anything from his master. He's already too far in debt. I've already shown you that the way people became slaves in that day was that they got themselves into so much debt that they could never pay. Even when he does everything, he's still unworthy. Thus, if the slave received anything from his master, it had to be a gift.

Everything we posses is a gift from God. Nothing we have is earned. Even those things we work hard for and save for are really gifts. God gives us the strength to work. He blesses us with the means, etc. Without His blessings we would have nothing.

This is really the antidote for entitlement. It is the cure for our little private (and sometimes not so private) tantrums when we think we've been unfairly treated by God or by others. (And don't think I'm holding myself above anybody else here. I've thrown my share of tantrums and can claim nothing of any merit on the subject.)

I mentioned earlier that entitlement is the polar opposite of gratitude. The only proper response to a gift, especially something expensive that I know I could not earn myself, is ongoing, attitude-changing, gratitude - a gratitude that does not focus on "my rights" (because in the parable here, a slave doesn't have any rights) but on God's blessings.

The fact is, when Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples, His suggestion that the master would invite his slave in right off the field and feed him even before he himself ate was ridiculous. It simply wouldn't happen. And when we make the application from the parable to us, it simply shouldn't happen, either. God giving a bunch of undeserving people who are capable of nothing greater than being "unworthy slaves" a place at His table even ahead of Himself?" It's a ridiculous picture.

But it's is exactly what God has done for us through Christ. Take a look at Paul's words in Philippians 2:3-9:

Isn't that the drumbeat of the entitlement attitude? "Selfishness and empty conceit"? "I deserve, I want. You owe me." Paul continues…

A person who feels entitled doesn't regard others as more important than himself. He's not looking out for the interests of others. He doesn't care about the interests of others. He's only concerned about himself.

Now, here it comes. Here comes God putting his servants' needs even ahead of his own. Here comes the Master letting his servants eat even before they give to Him what He rightly has coming.

God, through His Son, "emptied Himself" and took the form of a bond-servant made in the likeness of men. Though He was the Master, He became a slave - an "unworthy slave" at that because He took our own unworthiness upon Himself.

It’s a ridiculous picture. It's out of order. It doesn't fit. It shouldn't happen. But it did.

But it doesn’t end there. He then submitted Himself to something that should have been the lot of the servants - He paid the penalty for their inability with His own blood!

Then to top it off, He has invited us to join Him one day at His dinner table without or ever having earned it.

Did you know that God has invited us all to a wedding supper? It's true. Let me read the wedding invitation to you. It's in Revelation 19:9. Jesus told John to write up the invitation:

So who is going to be at this supper? A bunch of unworthy slaves! And you and I if we'll take hold of the meaning of this parable in Luke 17 and not let the entitlement attitude disqualify us.

The entitlement attitude, even the slightest hint of it in our lives, is the very opposite from the faith revealed in the Bible.

Whenever it raises its ugly head, the only way it can continue is to drive out the gratitude for God's grace that should be there in all of us.

Can we read this passage in Luke 17 and not be convicted? I can't. And I suspect that you can't either. I'm guilty at times. And as such, I'm just exactly what Jesus said I was here in this passage: an unworthy slave who, even at his best, does only that which he ought to have done. I can hold nothing up before you today to vindicate myself. I can only say in great appreciation with the songwriter:

Footnotes: Please use your back button to return to your place.

1. http://childrensneeds.homestead.com/moonfollow.html
2. 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Peter 2:7-8
3. Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Colossians 4:7; 2 Timothy 2:24. Many other passages show this.
4. Romans 10:9; 2 Corinthians 4:5
5. Romans 3:10; 1 Corinthians 2:14

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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