Why an Entitlement Mentality Won't Work for a Christian (2 Tim. 2)

In II Timothy 2:3:1-5, Paul writes about times that seem eerily similar to our own:

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

How many times have men pondered at whether or not these are the last days, wondering if the time is near for Christ to return and claim his own. I think it is human nature for us to wonder about such things, especially when times are difficult, and no one denies that “these” days are different than the ones our parents faced. Each generation has its own struggles, and the offspring of each generation reaps those struggles. As our pastor often says, “What the parent sows in moderation, the child will reap in excess.”

My question is this: what makes us think that we, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, can any longer avoid men such as these? And if we can’t avoid men such as these in an immediate world full of “social media,” regardless of where we are, what we do, our age, our race, our social status, etc., how do we as Christians live?

Ah. Here is where you wonder if I have some secret answer to the problems of the universe—some tapped-in spiritual revelation that God just hasn’t given you yet that will revolutionize your life? I hate to disappoint you, but that’s not the case. I have the same Bible, the same spirit, the same access to the body of believers that most of you do, and have the same dependence on Jesus for my salvation and strength as I walk daily through this maze called life.  

One thing I might have is a little different point of view of the situation since I have been teaching children and teens in some form or fashion for most the past twenty-five years. I have come to the realization that regardless of the form education takes, wait for it, now . . . children are all byproducts of the generation in which they are raised. No, that’s not rocket science, and before you get your hackles up thinking I am pointing any fingers, I only mean that children are malleable beings and soak up the morals of their generation as well as those of the parents and family who raise them. The cold, hard fact is that this American generation is one that feels entitled, whether it is my own children, private school children, or public school children. They all have the same problem, and unfortunately, it is a problem that even if adults don't share (and many do), they still have to deal with regularly. 

So what is the solution?

Christ in us. He is our only hope of glory. 

Yet we are suppressing him and embracing a form of godliness that might look good to certain people from the outside who only see the words and actions we want them to see. However, that life is not one that is pleasing to Christ, and it holds absolutely no power whatsoever. In fact, I would say that it is very harmful because it lulls the one who "successfully" lives a powerless life into thinking that everything is okay when the reality is that spiritually it is not. Imagine the rude awakening in heaven for many of our generation standing before the throne expecting admission to heaven just because. I don’t want that to be me, or you, or any of our children, and my heart breaks for it!

I have seen children (and adults) who attend church weekly (or more) and claim the name of Christ, being brutal to each other, belittling, demeaning, and demoralizing all in the name of “fun.” I have seen this in all the situations mentioned above. There is no perfect school, church, program, or place that will fix this problem, much to the chagrin of many, but there is training and instruction and discipline and accountability that with God’s power and the spirit’s moving can bring one to a saving knowledge of Christ and a desire to live an empowered life. An empowered life is not a life of entitlement. A truly empowered life full of the spirit serves and seeks the will of the One for whom we were created; it brings Him glory. A spirit of entitlement only separates us from God, which is why it just won’t work for Christians.

The problem with writing about this is that I can point my own fingers back in my own direction quite often. The solution I know works is staying in the Word (and coming back when I stray from it), seeking Him, praying at all times in all situations for His power in me. That is my only hope of glory, and I’m praying that others will want that same hope. Christ in me cures any feelings of entitlement because His sacrifice was more than I desired or deserved.