Feeling Entitled, Receiving A Gift

Feeling entitled, receiving a gift

Matthew 21:33-46

Introduction

Many years ago I was enlisted in the Air Force and competed for promotion to Technical Sergeant. I was a Staff Sergeant that had been recognized as one of the best. I had fire wall 5 performance reports and had been Group NCO of the Year for two consecutive years. I had all the right medals at the right time and had the right amount of time both in rank, and in the service. This was my year to make it.

But, I didn’t sit on my laurels. I had studied for months to prepare for the Air Force military knowledge test as well as the test on my specific career field. I was blessed with being in a job that covered all the bases and was able to relate to the information very well. When the time came for me to test, I was ready. I took both tests and walked out of the testing room knowing I did the best job I’d ever done. This was my second time testing for Technical Sergeant. I had filled all the right boxes, done the right things and performed as well as I could have possibly done.

The day was announced when they would release the results of who had made it. I KNEW I was one of the selects. Everything had been perfect. The day prior, the shop chief received a phone call. “Make sure everyone is there tomorrow morning; the Commander will be stopping by.” This was a clear indication. I was a select. There was only one other person up for promotion. He was new to the shop and I had more time in rank and more time in service than he did. No-one made it first time testing and this was his first time.

The following morning, I was as happy as could be and ready to receive the official good news. The Commander and First Sergeant came to the shop and had an announcement to make. I made sure I was in a position that would allow me to move forward when the time was right. The Colonel announced the great news, we had a Technical Sergeant select and it was customary to present stripes to our new promote. “Would Sean please step forward.”

Wow, He must have made it too, and this was his first time testing. Two new stripes in the shop today. This is a good day!

The First sergeant helped ceremoniously tack the new stripes on Sean and both the Commander and the Shirt congratulated him.

I anxiously waited for my name to be called next. It was my turn to get my new stripes. The Commander made a few comments and said he had a few more places to stop by. Then, the First Sergeant and the Commander left, with me a bit stunned by what had just happened. Didn’t they forget something? But no; I didn’t make it.

It took a few weeks before we all received our print outs showing how good or bad we did for promotion. When all was said and done, I was the number one non-select; the number one person in my job that was not selected for another stripe. I had missed my stripe by a mere half a point. The over confidence I had with the test scores was well placed in one test, but not so much in the other test. I did know my job cold. But, I had a bit of room for improvement in the military knowledge test. Had I gotten just one more question correct, I would’ve received MY stripes as well.

Have you ever felt entitled to something? Ever felt that you had the right to something, some position or even someone? That’s how I felt when the promotion results were released. I had worked hard. I had proven myself. Those were my stripes. But, it wasn’t to be. I had to wait another year to earn those stripes and make them mine.

Many of us have felt entitled to something at one point in our life, or another. We’ve taken possession of something before we truly owned it. To us, it was ours. But, in actuality, it belonged to someone else.

Entitlement

In the Gospel message today, we have a similar attitude of entitlement. The Jewish leaders felt that, as the chosen people, they had the law; they had the commandments God gave them long ago. They were entitled to spending their eternity with God as a special select group of people. They felt that with entitlements, you can’t take them away. You get them automatically, no matter what. That’s how the Jews saw their place.

But, God didn’t exactly see it that way; He had a different view of what people were really “entitled” to. Throughout Biblical history, He sent messengers to try to get His people back on track. He wanted to warn them. They had an attitude of entitlement and lacked an attitude of thankfulness. They had open hands ready to accept something, but no concept of what it meant to receive what God was offering. They had no idea how to receive the gift God was offering them. The parable that Jesus told them was not just a story, but a history lesson from the Old Testament times. It was another lesson for them to learn to change their attitudes and come back to the love of God.