Entitled

Many complain about the “entitled” attitude of young people today. Interestingly, this is what we taught them. However, parents, if you want God’s favor for your children, teach them to be “poor in spirit.” 

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 5:3

Shocking Words

This statement was meant to be shocking. Jesus began his longest recorded sermon with eight blessings, known as The Beatitudes. He spoke these words early in his ministry to a large crowd, seated on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. 

“Fortunate are the poor.” That is crazy.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” was a radical message. In the experiences of his audience, the opposite was true; blessed are the wealthy. In Jesus’ day, “blessed” was a common way of describing a person who was wealthy. The link between being blessed and wealthy was assumed. To be blessed was the same as being fortunate.

Entitled and Blessed

Today, this text is so common that it has lost much of its shock value. We look right past it. When have you ever heard a sermon on the first Beatitude? It is also difficult for us to fully understand because we have been blessed with a prosperous middleclass in America. We are fortunate. We have what we need and more. Americans are blessed with food, clothes, shoes, shelter. We can go to the doctor when we are sick. Beggars standing on the side of the road are the exception, not the rule. But, in the time of the Romans, there was no middleclass. There was rich and poor. The rich had everything and the poor had nothing.

In Luke 6:20, it simply says “blessed are the poor,” but I think Matthew got it correct with the focus on “Poor in spirit.” I don’t think that Jesus is saying that being poor is a ticket into heaven. No, the poor are not to be envied. God does not want you to be poor. He wants you to prosper and to give you hope and a future. 

Changed Attitude

Jesus was emphasizing the importance of our attitude. Think for a moment of the attitude of the wealthy: arrogant, self-righteous, having an exaggerated sense of their importance and abilities. An entitled attitude is opposite of what Jesus desires in his followers.

Teach them to easily say “I’m sorry” and to quickly forgive

To me, it seems that Jesus was encouraging believers to develop the “humble and contrite spirit” spoken about in Isaiah.

 If we are humble in our spirit or attitude, easily say “I’m sorry” and quick to forgive, we can enjoy the favor of God. Isn’t this the attitude we want for our children anyway? Changing the entitled attitude won’t stop the complainers, but it will result in God’s favor.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit…” 

Isaiah 66:2.

Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear

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