“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Even though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” - Philippians 2:5-7a

One phrase I HATED to hear out of the mouths of my kids was “That’s not fair!” Whenever this phrase was introduced into the corridors of our house, it made the hairs on my neck stand up! Maybe because I had used it and I didn’t want it used by my offspring. The sound of it conjures up images of temper tantrums and a child being drug across the department store floor. It’s ugly to hear and uglier to watch. It’s at its ugliest when adults use it.

Now, most adults don’t use the phrase anymore, but the attitude is still prevalent. Adults resort to snide or disgusted looks or a social media tirade about an injustice they’ve endured. But, it still stems from an attitude of entitlement.

Entitlement is inward thinking. In thinking we deserve something, we can reject the heart behind another person’s thoughtfulness. If we expect someone to treat us a certain way, we set ourselves up for disappointment.

We also don’t know the conditions of another person. A forgotten thank you can cut us and yet the person who forgot has no way of knowing they’ve hurt you. As long as we feel we are deserving of gratitude from another, it shows our motives behind our giving. Thankfulness kills entitlement every single time.

TRY IT: Consider a time when you felt you were owed something (deserving or not). How did you communicate it? What could have been the circumstances behind the injustice?