If you live in America, watch the news or read the paper the
word “entitlement” is a common word in our society. As a parent of young
children I hear a lot about kids believing they are entitled to have anything they want; a new car, cell phone, spending money, etc. The list is endless. In fact, a whole generation is being referred
to as the “Entitlement Generation”.
en-ti-tle-ment
the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.
I got to thinking about myself and the human race and
wondered if we sometimes struggle with entitlement when it comes to God. Do we
believe that we are deserving of certain privileges? Certain blessings? Even life itself? If we do
a certain thing, God better come through? Are we a bit entitled too?
I think as believers we all agree that every breath we take
is a gift from our Creator. Every moment on this earth is in his hands. We are
not in control of our health or our length of days. Even Isaac in Genesis 27: 2
says, “I do not know the day of my death”.
Then, in James we are reminded of the brevity of life.
Come now, you who say,
“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and
trade and make a profit”— yet you do not
know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that
appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills,
we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15
I think if we are not mindful of the giver of life, humble,
and grateful for every single breath we take, we risk living life as if it’s
our own. We become the gods and we worship self. We do what we want to do
because we think we deserve it. Life is not a privilege, it is a gift from God.
“For as I passed along
and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this
inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this
I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord
of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by
human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all
mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of
mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted
periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God,
and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far
from each one of us, for
“‘In him we live and
move and have our being’;
as even some of your
own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed
his offspring.’~ Acts 17:23-28 (ESV)
We are not entitled to life.
We are not guaranteed one
single breath.
Each day is a gift. Every breath you take is an act of grace and love from our God.
Treasure today! Don't waste your gift. It may not be available for you to open tomorrow. We have
to keep our minds focused on Jesus. He is our life. I pray that we never take for granted
the gift of life. And since we do not know how long our life will last, we
humbly and gratefully thank God for each day, and do our best to live for his glory and honor.
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