Entitlementality

An entitlement mentality is a state of mind in which an individual believes he deserves certain privileges — and he's arrogant about it. Entitlement creates an inward self-focused, self-centered person. It reeks of a feeling of self-importance, rights, and benefits that we think we deserve. Unfortunately, this mindset has surreptitiously and steadily crept into the minds of so many in the church.

 

Some church people have a strong entitlement mentality. They see the church as a place largely to meet their needs, desires and peculiar aspirations. Some members think the church must commit to their welfare or felt needs, just because they are card-carrying members, or they’ve been around for some time. Some church workers would go any length to claim certain benefits that in their mind should be attached to the service they offer in church. Church leaders assume they should be given some kind of special treatment because of their position, title or social status. If those needs and desires are not met, or the expectations they have about what they think they are entitled to, are not met, they become critical of church leadership. According to Thom Rainer, for a number of unfounded reasons, we have turned church membership into country club membership. You pay your dues and you are entitled to certain benefits.

 

Many of us have entitlement mentality ingrained in our consciousness. It oozes out of our subconscious. It is expressed in our uncanny lust for power and control; in the artful and sometimes obnoxious way we jockey for titles and positions; in our ambitions for prominence; in the way we patronize leadership to gain an advantage in asserting ourselves over others and to advance our personal agendas. Many of us often feel that our giftedness, our leadership positions, our social (financial) status or reputation, our assumed closeness to the ‘corridors of power’ give us some sort of free hand in taking some liberties in the church. Some pastors and leaders enter the ministry with mistaken expectations. They either forget or are unaware that the ministry is an act of service, not a platform for acting out a truncated notion of personal gifting or calling. When these expectations collude with the imperatives of the church leadership, they develop a critical spirit, out of a bruised ego, because their sense of entitlement has not been gratified. They get infected with the Diotrephes Syndrome (3 John 1:9-10), as they become contentious, undermining the authority of leadership and abusing their privileges.

 

One thing must be clear, there is no place in the church for a self-serving attitude. We seem to forget that we have this ministry through the mercy of God (2 Cor. 4:1), and therefore, we are what we are by the grace of God (1Cor. 15:10). It is not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God (2 Cor. 3:5). We let our little accomplishments get into our heads so quickly. Paul said, “What is so special about you? What do you have that you were not given? And if it was given to you, how can you brag?” (1 Cor. 4:7, CEV) Lifeway puts it this way, “Don’t get too big for your britches. Nothing you do is that special. You’re not better than anyone.” Exactly the point, if you look closely around, you’ll see people who have done greater exploits for the advancement of God’s kingdom, and they’ve not become swollen-headed. They are not even thinking about it, not to talk of talking about it.

 

If there’s anyone who should have a sense of entitlement, it should be Christ. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8, NLT). The essential character of Jesus’ servanthood as expressed in the text was the ‘emptying’ of self. For Jesus, this involved putting aside his divine status and prerogative and embracing suffering and pain, ultimately letting go of life itself. This ‘emptying’ is not just a call to humility as some suppose. It is a call to shun self-ambition, prominence and even reputation. For Jesus, it meant divesting himself of all his entitlements — rights, privileges, benefits, and expectations. The bottom-line, here, is that we must have the same attitude that Christ had (Phil 2:5) — we drop our entitlement mentality and pick up the servant attitude, for the cause of the Kingdom.