It can be a significant struggle to battle entitlement in relationships. Marriages, business partnerships, friendships and acquaintances can be affected by entitlement.
Entitlement happens when people take into consideration the things they feel they deserve from a person or situation, whether it's true or not. Better parking space, more time to talk, less correction or who gets to get the last say in decision making. Entitlement can take various forms and sizes.
One thing for sure, though, is that entitlement will always hinder and even degrade relationships. Philippians 2:3 tells us, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."
Christian living has always been about living for the welfare of others even before ourselves. Here are some practical ways to battle entitlement and force it out of our hearts.
Don't seek position or title
Philippians 2:5-7 gives us the best example: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."
Jesus could have come down on earth as the son of a general, a rich businessman or even a Pharisee, but he came down as a carpenter's son who was born in a manger to remind us that position and title mean nothing to God and others.
Remember God's grace
If there is one thing that we are to be entitled to, it's punishment. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
No one is ever entitled to gifts. To be entitled to receiving a gift would be a great insult to the gift giver. We deserve nothing else except the wrath of God, and whatever bad that comes to us just might be a glimpse of what we would have gotten if Christ had not died for us.
Love and serve others
John 13:35 says, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." The greatest determinant to whether we follow Christ or not is the number of scriptures we know or how many laws we keep, but how many people we love.
As we love others, we let go of our rights to perks and generously give way so that others may experience the blessing that we openly deny ourselves in order to bring greater glory to Christ by serving others.
