Our
response to success can impact our future blessings. After
refusing
to be the king, Gideon decided he was entitled to a reward. He
said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring
from your share of the plunder.” (Judges
8:24)
It
was the least they could do to honor their hero. He had risked
everything in his defeat of the enemy and was entitled.
It
is not unusual for a person to benefit from their success – a
parking spot near the door, a corner office, first class travel –
one is entitled to such perks.
However,
sometimes the perks that come with success can send the wrong
message. The former head of a missions group refused to enter a limo
that had been sent to pick him up at the airport. “The people who
give sacrificially to support missions may get the wrong impression,”
he said.
The
head of another missions agency got into hot water over the price of
his office furniture.
Gideon
gave glory to God but this desire for a big payday was a step in the
wrong direction.
John
Delorean was the automotive genius responsible for the Firebird, the
GTO and the Grand Prix. He capitalized on his fame and talent to
start Delorean Motor Cars but went bankrupt. He thought he could
apply his superior business skills to traffic drugs but wound up
buying drugs from undercover cops. A sense of entitlement doesn't
always land you in jail but it does cause people to believe that they
are above the law; or at least believe that the rules don't apply to
them.
David
thought he was entitled to Bathsheba. Bill Clinton thought he was
entitled to Monica Lewinski. The poor feel entitled to what the rich
have and the rich feel entitled to the poor.
No comments:
Post a Comment