Has Your Surrender To God Turned Into Entitlement?

We live in a culture today where a sense of entitlement is rampant. We believe we are entitled to certain privileges and treatments. We believe we are entitled to life, liberty, safety, and happiness. We believe we are entitled to pursue our interest and desires without interruption.

As Christians, if we’re not careful, even our surrender to God can turn into entitlement. This happens when our surrender comes with certain expectations. We may have thoughts like:
” I’m tired of being single. I’ve remained pure, so why am I not married?”
“I work hard. I’m a tither and a giver. Why has God not blessed me with a high salaried job?”
“I’ve prayed, fasted and believed God for children. Why do I remain childless? Aren’t children a gift from God?
When these expectations aren’t met in the manner or timeframe we feel they should have, and we allow these thoughts to go unchecked, they turn into disappointment, resentment, and ultimately into entitlement.

Does God Owe Us?

The bible is filled with displays of God’s sovereignty over creation. God shows great care for His creation out of his goodness, not out of obligation. The story of Job is one of the most well known stories in the bible of man questioning God. And he is the one we’d most justify in having the right to be upset after all God allowed him to go through.

However, after all of Job’s questioning, when God finally speaks in Job Chapter 38, He doesn’t directly give Job an explanation for his suffering. Instead, He asks Job a series of rhetorical questions to shift his mind from his suffering to the sovereignty of the Creator. God, the creator was not obligated to give His created an explanation. We see this example again in Romans 9 when Paul explains that God, the potter is not obligated to the clay, but the clay is obligated toward the potter.

19)You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? who can resist his will?” 20)But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21)Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ‘
Romans 9:19-21 ESV

Entitlement is a thief

Our surrender is intended to be a humble, daily submission to God’s will, not a tool to claim divine favor based on our personal performance. When we feel entitled, it robs us of a true relationship with Christ. Instead of an intimate relationship we have a transactional one…we serve to get something in return. It is never from a place of intimacy and wanting to please God. We are hindered from experiencing the peace of God. Instead of living a life of gratitude our mind is consumed with the things we don’t have but believe we should. We constantly compare our lives to others we think are being blessed.

Shift Your Mindset

Jesus is the example of what real surrender looks like. The bible says that he emptied himself of his deity and took the nature of a servant by becoming human. He didn’t use his equality with God as an advantage.

5)Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6)who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7)but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, Or slave being born in the likeness of men. ‘
Philippians 2:5-7 ESV

Signs of Spiritual Entitlement

Mentality of “God Owes Me”: Belief that because you follow God, he is obligated to provide a comfortable life, good health, or success.
Lack of Intimacy: View prayer as a “give me” wish list rather than a relationship of service and worship.
Lack of Gratitude: Inability to recognize and appreciate God’s gifts each day.
Judgment and Comparison: Feel superior to others or questioning why someone else is blessed while you are not.

How to Prevent Surrender from Becoming Entitlement

Pursue Intimacy with God: Change your prayers from transactional to relational
Daily Self-Examination: Check your motives for any acts of service. Regularly ask the Holy Spirit to reveal prideful or deserving attitudes.
Repentance: Entitlement stems from pride. Repent for harboring it in your heart
Cultivate Gratitude: Actively remember to give God thanks.