Thursday, March 8, 2012

Who says you're entitled anything?

I think the 'spirit of entitlement' has gotten a little out of hand. It's getting close to total disregard for the pride of working toward earning something.  Today, it's 'I want it because I want it..and I will have it by taking it from someone or put my claim to it no matter what.' Almost gone are the days of working toward earning something, gone are the days of proceeding through the channels designed to make a person have the good feeling of accomplishing something worthwhile.
Today, force your way in and take it, push aside the law and neglect who you've stepped on to have what you want.

What's taken by breaking the law is not right

Photo credit: Alvimann from morguefile.com

 
Let me paint a  picture of what I'm talking about. Lets say you have a nice home and yard which you've worked many years in order to come up with a down payment and then work on your job to save to be able to purchase items to add to your home.  You went to school to learn a trade, qualified for a good job, and  earned enough for a down payment for your home and work to keep in maintained inside and out, including paying taxes.  You decide to take a much needed vacation. While you're away, someone breaks into your home and makes themselves comfortable in your home. This family likes your home so much, they claim it's now their home. You come back from your vacation to find this family occupying your home. They say, this home is large enough for all- you live on the main floor and we will live in one bedroom and come and go as we please, we won't bother you. We will pay for our expenses and you keep the house in your name, pay the taxes, but we want to live here because we like it here. Is this family entitled? This is also an example of what's happened to those who've broken through our country's borders and want our country's laws to cater to them just because they like it here. 

Here's another picture-Let's say you've worked and saved to purchase items for your home.  Someone breaks in and steals your belongings. They've stolen what isn't theirs. Is this person entitled to your things? Of course not. This person is found guilty of trespassing and stealing, and now has to pay the penalty for this crime.

While incarcerated, this person wants the pleasure of color television with access to the best books and gets a free education with three free meals every day without having to work to earn any of this. While incarcerated he expects to be treated as if he's a guest in a hotel with access to a workout room, play games, talk on the phone, have visitors- in general, paying the penalty of a crime is actually an easy time with benefits. Is this person entitled to have these pleasures for breaking the law and violating home of another?


Each of the above examples show how people want to have what they desire, but without regard for earning it and disrespecting the rights and privileges of those who've earned the right of possession.  The 'spirit of entitlement' is rampantly spreading out of control faster than a wildfire on a dry, breezy day.

Stay within the laws of God and the land

Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

 
Bottom line- Every thing belongs to God. We are just the users and care takers. There are such things as being greedy, haughty, and selfish. Neither does God want anyone to disrespectful of the rights of others.        Question- Who says anyone's entitled to have anything? Answer-God does, but within respectful boundaries that make possessing anything equally fair and right to all.



Scripture references-


1 comment:

  1. I appreciate this post and the fact that I finally found someone who has some respect for other people’s property. I have been an artist and writer for 7 years now and I have seen the internet change so much. At one time people were respectful of creative works and they would ask you if they could share something from your site and they would always put a link there to the site they got it from.

    Ever since MySpace I have seen a huge decline in respect. And most of the people who are taking and sharing images are breaking the copyright laws. I do acknowledge that many are unaware but when I confront them they attack me and call me self righteous.

    Through the years on several occasions, I have found my art stolen and what I mean by this is they remove information from my work that would tell others where it came from and some have even placed their own text upon my art. People have taken my quotes, poetry and devotions and used them and never added my name. As of late I have removed allot from my site and stopped sharing many different creative works. I have grown tired of people feeling entitled to everything I do.

    I have even seen several books out that contained quotes and poems from various sources with author unknown, I know they didn’t get permission to use those works but they still took them anyway and they are making money from them. The thing I find to be most appalling is in the front of the book you will find their copyright notice that tells you not to use any portion of their book for any reason.

    This was a great topic to cover.

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