Over the weekend, I had to deal with nursing one of my staff who had been verbally assaulted by a volunteer leader of our church. The volunteer in question was angry that we had deemed her not ready for an advanced leadership training for the church because she had submitted her requirements in two days late.
It was a terrible experience to watch a longtime member of the church and faithful disciple-maker and intercessor get so vicious because she felt she had the right because of all the things she had done for the church. All of a sudden the opportunity that God had given to serve simply because of His grace became a free pass to hurt someone else's feelings. The situation is at this point unresolved, but I look to no less than God's grace to guide me through this.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says this: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
If there's one thing the saving grace of God that we all experience does is it removes the entitlement in us. Now I don't want to be the naysayer that condemns that leader of ours. I still love her with the love of the Lord and hope to restore her relationship with my staff member.
The removal of entitlement is not an easy task. I admit to having one foot on the banana peel while writing this article. At times I can be terribly entitled myself especially when I'm driving, when someone has something nasty to say about my work or when people try to take advantage of me.
But God makes it clear that entitlement is not a result of His work for us. When we come to a realisation that everything we have and everything we are comes simply because of the undeserved and unmerited grace of God, it deals with pride and entitlement that tries to deceive us into believing that we deserve a certain pass or treatment.
James 4:6 says, "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" Here's the truth: The more entitled we become, the harder it becomes for God's grace to flow freely into our lives. Not because God is disgusted by you, but because He is disgusted by the attitude. God opposes pride and wants it out of your heart and my heart. There's no knowing how long that removal process is going to take, but it must be clear to us that entitlement is not what God builds us up for.
Jesus says in Matthew 20:16 "So the last will be first, and the first last." Are you battling with entitlement currently? What areas of pride must you start laying down at God's feet starting today?
