Entitlement

Doing as much counseling, soul work and spiritual direction as Gwen and I do, we often see people sitting with us and friends that we know--even ourselves that all seems to suffer from what I would call, this morning--"spiritual entitlement issues." It's like a two year old child who seems demanding of his parents. She has become the center of the universe. All the world must revolve around her needs, her wants and her desires. It's sickening to watch. It's awful to experience. It's depressing to encounter.

Yet, I'm sure we all see this from time to time.

• The couple who wants to move into a new home but can't sell their present one and wonders what is up and why God doesn't answer their prayer.
• The man who longs for a new job--musters the courage to quit his old one and then sits in disillusionment because his new 'house-flipping' job isn't quite working given the world economy and the depressed housing market. What's up with his prayers?
• The high school leader in the church youth group who is rejected from their 1st choice of college. They prayed. They are faithful. What's up with this?
• The solider who must return for his 3rd deployment and wants to have a life; wants to settle down but there is no settling with terrorism and with a signed contract that you will faithfully serve your country.
• The patient who is an elder--perhaps even missionary--who has faithfully served God and now is diagnosed with a painful; perhaps even incurable disease. Why, God?
• The woman whose husband is addicted to Internet porn and sits and wonders why her husband would chose 'those women' instead of her. Her heart is broken. Where is God in this?

Can you do a survey of your own faith--your own heart and see where the tenacles of spiritual entitlement may lie in you; in your faith. We, like Mary and Martha in the Lazarus story, all have issues that need to die. It's not just our bodies that die. Some of our faith. Some of our spiritual expectations. Some of our wants and desires must die in that tomb as well. And, what we will "get" when so many illusions die?

Faith. Pure faith that is tried and tested and will be enough for us to really live the life Jesus wants us to live.