Recently I read an article discussing a growing culture of entitlement amongst emerging post modern millennials.
It made some valid and interesting points and after a number of related conversations I find myself considering if it has begun to affect the way as church communities we approach God.
If we look at the start of the Lord’s prayer, it embraces a beautiful paradox.
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name”
The familiar and intimate, and yet followed by reverence and the sacred!
What if we have a tendency to lean towards one or the other?
The familiar and intimate approach is steeped in rich truth which the apostle Paul later unpacks suggesting we have been adopted as sons and daughters by the Almighty God.
It has been said that perhaps previous generations have focused on the reverent and sacred nature of God, as such I wonder if we are in danger of swinging in the other direction.
By focusing on the familiar and intimate without embracing the reverent and sacred are we in danger of adopting an attitude of entitlement?
This is perhaps nothing new, in Luke 17:11-19 we read;
Ten Healed of Leprosy
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man,“Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
This passage raises a number of questions for me;
- Where the other 9 Jewish?
- Did the fact that 1 was considered “foreign” mean he approached Jesus in a different manner?
- What stopped the other 9 returning?
- Did the other 9 get ill again?
The answers for those questions are somewhat open to interpretation … So what can we learn from this passage, Lets look at the facts;
- Jesus has the power to heal.
- Healing does not always happen instantly – they were healed as they went.
- Jesus does not seem impressed that only 1 came back to thank Him.
How does this fit with the paradox of intimacy and reverence?
- As sons and daughters of the Father, His power, freedom and provision and much more are our inheritance.
- But … this inheritance is the kind that has been provided by grace.
- … As such it is a gift.
- … And gifts invoke gratitude!
Gratitude … the quality of being thankful (according to the Oxford dictionary) …
Entitled … the legal right to receive something (according to the Oxford dictionary) …
Lets face it entitled is not a becoming approach … so lets throw off any of that kind of attitude … and embrace a ground shaking, enthusiastic choice to praise each time we see God move, big or small!
Let praise awaken; http://youtu.be/SGn50EWn-sk