Entitlement...But I Deserve It!

Most people shudder at the thought of being described as "entitled." Entitlement seems to subtly (yet so masterfully) sink its teeth into people who have experienced difficulty and tragedy.

Five years ago, after tragedy and difficulty struck my life, I took great liberties with entitlement. I felt I had a right to be angry, bitter and do anything I wanted. After all, somebody wounded me, so wasn't I entitled to behave however I wanted, in order to ease my pain?

There were days I snapped at my kids, cut others off in traffic, and behaved like a crazy person. Mostly, I spent a lot of time in my own little courtroom of justice.

The courtroom of justice is a fun little place where we are the prosecutor, defense attorney, jury and judge. In our courtroom of justice, we bring opening arguments about the wrong done to us. Next, we defend our actions and justify why we are the victim. Then, the jury sends down a verdict of GUILTY to the party who committed the crime. Finally, the judge slams the gavel and doles out a harsh sentence. It's a WIN/WIN and always gives the same results. Here are just a few of the "results" of the courtroom of justice.

1. Victim Mentality

2. Depression and Anxiety

3. Bitterness

4. Relationships suffer.

5. Health Issues

Yeah, that sounds like a WIN/WIN... None of us are entitled to anything. Everyone has experienced some type of tragedy or difficulty. Entitlement has us operate out of a victim mentality and behave in ways that are unhealthy and destructive. Blame fuels entitlement and yet where does blame get any of us? (Oh yeah..back to the courtroom of justice). A great strategy to deal with entitlement is introspection. Introspection is a fancy term that means, "Hey, look in the mirror and deal with your own junk!" In my situation, I was not blameless. I made mistakes and was far from perfect. There were things I had to change about myself and character defects that needed a major overhaul. When I focused on my flaws and shortcomings, suddenly entitlement disappeared. One of my favorite Scriptures says, "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! ( 2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT). I don't know about you, but there are things I would rather just let go of. Instead of spinning in entitlement and the courtroom of justice, may we ALL have the guts to be introspective, change those things about ourselves that need to be stripped away, and experience a NEW LIFE!