Entitled?

The current Wendy’s commercials portray a misguided male taking a stand for what he deserves: a hot, juicy burger. A written statement on their website states, “we’re unrivaled in our passion for giving people what they want — and uncompromising in giving people what they deserve.”

Our current culture is one of “I deserve”, also known as entitlement. We believe that we deserve better jobs, higher raises, and bigger homes. Personal happiness is paramount, and we think we deserve it.

Three years ago, I believed, and even lived out the belief, that I deserved a better life. I lived it out so much, in fact, that I began to consider what my life would be like if I wasn’t married any longer. While my husband and I did have issues and behaviors that required change, believing the “I deserve” lie proved to have long-lasting, even devastating consequences. Unfortunately, I fell victim to a cultural misrepresentation of the truth. Thankfully, I didn’t follow through on the lie and my husband and I are very happily still married.

Yet how many men and women can brag about a happy ending to their belief in the entitlement lie? Our world is teetering on a precipice. The entitlement lie has led to an unprecedented number of bankruptcies, cosmetic surgeries and marital failures. How? you might ask? Let me explain.

Entitlement means to believe you deserve something. Numerous credit card companies are offering incentives to “buy now, pay later” because you deserve the big screen television. People are buying into the incentive programs and are getting new appliances, flooring, even cars because they can pay later, but enjoy the material things they deserve now. What people are forgetting is that buying now paying later adds up, which, if you buy too many things now, can lead to financial ruin. You don’t deserve that do you? Hmmmm.

Marriage failures are skyrocketing because people are unhappy and believe they deserve to be happy. Christians are buying into this lie, but only partially carrying through with it by checking the “Legally Separated” box rather than the “Divorce” box. The result, however, is the same. Families are torn apart, finances are cut in half and kids pay the price. Do they deserve that?

The question then is what do we deserve? According to the Bible the answer is very simple: Death. Only Death. We don’t deserve the latest gadget, hair style, pair of jeans or car. We deserve Death.

Eve bought into the deserve lie in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. In it the Lord tells Adam and Eve no to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. Satan, however, the creator of “Deserve“, approaches Eve and whispers a small lie into her head- you deserve to eat from the tree- who is God anyway?? He’s keeping something from you- that’s not right. Eve realizes her mistake after she’s eaten from the fruit and tries to hide for the Lord. However, one can’t hide from the Lord, and Eve reaps the consequence of her action: Death. A consequence that has followed each generation since, a consequence the Lord was protecting us from. The perfect world died when Eve ate of the tree; a world the Lord desired to give us, not because we deserved it, but because He loves us.

Praise God for grace, though. His grace came down on a world that disobeyed Him. Through His son He gave us not what we deserve, but what we don’t deserve: Life. Life through His Son Jesus Christ. The only stipulation- the only payment if you will- Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s it. Yet of all the things that are out there for us to acquire, Jesus is last on most people’s list and in not getting Him, they are ultimately getting what they truly deserve: Death.

The challenge, then, is to begin living with what you don’t deserve. Live with Jesus today. Ask Him into your heart. Pray the prayer you don’t deserve to pray. Tell the Lord you don’t deserve Him. Ask Him to take you, all of you, and ask Him to come into your life. When we live a don’t deserve lifestyle our focus changes from me to others, which may then lead to lasting marriages, financial security, and greater self assurance.