When It Comes to God‘s Kingdom, I’m Not Entitled

By Jessica Brodie

The younger generations always get a lot of criticism, don’t they? I remember my generation being criticized when I was growing up, and I don’t doubt the Baby Boomers were criticized when they were young.

Today, I’m the mom and stepmom of four teenagers, all part of Generation Z. One of the biggest complaints the world seems to have about Gen Z is that they all seem so incredibly entitled. As the criticism goes, they’re so used to their parents doing things for them, and telling them they can do anything and be whoever or whatever they want to be, that when they enter the workforce, some of them are not equipped. In short, they’re considered to be a bunch of entitled brats (not my term!) who expect to be handed things without the hard work required.

Of course, this is not true. Generalizing is never kind or right, but I have met my share of entitled people across the spectrum of generations, and it’s not fun. As someone with a really strong work ethic, it’s really obnoxious when someone expects everything to simply fall into their lap.

Yet in my heart of hearts, I have to admit there are a few things I feel entitled to.

Because I’ve never been homeless, I feel entitled to a home and a bed where I can lay my head.

Because I’ve never gone without food or water, I feel entitled to turn on a faucet and get fresh, clean, nontoxic water. Even if I run out of money to buy food, I feel like I could walk into a food bank or a relative’s house, and they would provide for me out of the goodness of their heart.

I know in many places in this world, access to shelter, food, and water is not always a given. Yet because of my culture and upbringing, I tend to take these things for granted and not see them as the blessing that they are.

Another thing I’ve always, deep down, felt entitled to? God’s kingdom. And I feel awful about this.

See, I was raised understanding God to be loving and good God who wants me in his heavenly family. I was raised to believe God will forgive me if I ask, no matter what. And I know this is true.

But I also know there are things I need to do, too. I need to believe Jesus Christ is my savior, and I need to repent of my sins and do the very best I can to honor God’s commands and live in alignment with him and his will.

I need to love other people as myself and put God first.

I’d love to think most people go to heaven. I genuinely hope this is the case. But reading the Bible, while we know we are all offered salvation through Jesus, some people don’t accept that gift. They expect they’ll be welcomed into heaven and conveniently ignore the things they’re supposed to do—we’re supposed to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:21), to know that he is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6 NIV), to not forget that while God so loved the world that he sent his son Jesus Christ, the rest of that verse tells us, “That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life: (John 3:16).

We don’t get to be part of God’s heavenly family for being a good person or a kind person. We don’t get to belong just because we’re “nice” or because we follow the laws of our nation.

Salvation comes when we repent and believe, Jesus said (Mark 1:15).

But the good news is that this is an opportunity everyone is invited to share. Salvation is a gift from God, but we need to accept it. We need to believe and obey him.

If you’ve never accepted Christ as your savior, I urge you to open your heart to him. If I can pray for you or with you, please reach out to me by email. We’re not entitled to this gift, and none of us deserves it. We all fall short, and we can’t possibly earn this gift.

But it’s a gift that is available to everyone. All we need to do is accept it. Believe. Follow.

Will you join me in a prayer? God, I’m sorry for the times I feel entitled to salvation. Thank you for such an extravagantly generous gift you’ve given me in your son Jesus. Help me to shine your light and share the Gospel with others so all can be part of your family. We pray in your holy name, Amen.