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.
Throughout history, God sent many messengers to change the attitudes of people. After Adam and Eve’s offspring had populated the world, they became selfish and self centered. They forgot about God and focused on themselves. God chose to do a bit of house-cleaning to restore the attitude of the people by sending Noah as His messenger and a great flood to rid the world of evil. Noah did what he could to warn the people. It must have been such a sight to see the arc being built. But, his efforts rescued only a small group of people a remnant of the world’s population. Noah came as a messenger to restore God’s people. But, the people didn’t listen.
Again, Noah’s offspring populated the world. Years went by, and again, the people chose to turn away from God and toward their own sinful desires. As punishment, God chose to have the Israelites placed in bondage by the Egyptians. But, he also sent another messenger to correct the attitude of the people.
This time, Moses was chosen from among the Israelites. Through this servant of God, he led the Israelites out of bondage and toward the Promised Land. But memory is often short lived. They saw the miracles of the plagues and their rescue from the rule of Egypt leading towards their own nation. But when Moses left, they went back to their own way of thinking. As Moses was up on the mountain talking with God, they were creating a golden calf to worship in place of the true God. After such a short time, they again needed attitude correction.
Isaiah came and spoke about the coming messiah. He wrote more than another other prophet about the coming savior who would sacrifice so much for so many. But, his words of the coming Lord fell on deaf ears as well.
Finally, God sent his own son, Jesus, to change the hearts and minds of the world. He came with a message of hope and of peace, of forgiveness and just righteousness. He came to change the world by preaching parables that explained the attitude changes that needed to take place. He came to change the hearts of men, and restore His people to grace.
Gift
In each of these cases of attitude problems, the people felt they were entitled to more than what they had. They never accepted the gifts that God have them. Instead of approaching Him with thankful hearts and joyful voices, they developed an attitude and failed to listen; they never seemed to be satisfied. Instead of conforming to the will of God, they wanted God to conform to their own sinful desires.
Today, it’s really not that much different. We see all around us, people who define God not by what He’s said about Himself, but by what they feel about Him. In other words, they’re willing to redefine God by human standards rather than the messengers that have proclaimed Him throughout the ages.
Take a look at the example of Pastor Carlton Pearson from Tulsa, Oklahoma. By all standards, he was a very successful preacher with a church of over 5,000 members. (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/march/4.25.html) Well known for being a powerful speaker, he reached many and continued to grow his church. However, one day he came to a conclusion that there was no hell. He began to preach this message and reduced his mega church from the weekly thousands to a handful of followers. The point isn’t that the church reduced in size, but that such a successful preacher could lose his way so quickly. You see, he stopped focusing on what the Bible had to say about eternal life and focused solely on the mercy of God. He ignored the fact that God is a just God as well as the judgment day mentioned in Revelation, the punishment of the great flood and the numerous captivities that Israel suffered through their existence as a people. Yes, God is merciful, but he is also described as a God of justice. Crime requires punishment.
This parable of the vineyard owner is a direct warning. We can’t focus on one part of the Bible in difference to the rest. We have to look at the entire character of God. He is merciful in so many ways. But, he is also a just God, and justice requires punishment for the crime. We are the criminals. We have sinned against God and that demands a verdict and a sentence. We have earned a sentence of eternal punishment and separation from God. That’s our real “entitlement.”
But, God has sent us a great gift with the sacrifice of His son. He sent His son to show us how mercy can be given and justice served. Some of Jesus last words on the cross were “they know not what they do”, a plea for leniency on his captors. He gave everything of Himself, and paid the price we were “entitled to pay,” so that others could enjoy the gift of salvation; a gift that we only need to reach out and accept with grateful appreciation, and a repentant heart.
Conclusion
The tenants of the vineyard owed something to the owner. They toiled in the vineyard and were to give a portion of their efforts. But, they didn’t like the rules. Instead, they made up their own set of standards and rebelled against the agreement the owner had with them. They were allowed to use the land for their own purposes. They were allowed to raise and feed their families from that land. They felt entitled to everything, but weren’t willing to give what was due. Instead, they chose to change the rules and keep everything for themselves. They chose to ignore the advice of the messengers and live by their own standards.
Just like the tenants, today it’s the same. People often fail to recognize that God is the owner of this world. People seem to prefer a god that they can control and manipulate, a god that they can shape in their own image, rather than the God that created the world and gave it to us as a gift.
Everything we have is a gift from God. We’re not entitled to anything. He gave the world to us and daily provides for our every need. Our possessions, our life, our daily food and drink all belong to Him. But more than that, our life and our time are His as well. All of these are on loan from Him. Just like the vineyard belonged to the land owner, all of our lives belong to God. Just like the land owner sent messengers and then his son, God send prophets then Jesus. Just like the land owner, we have a set of standards to follow.
God wants us to be grateful for the gifts that he’s given us. But, he also wants us to be content with what we have. He also wants us to give a share back to Him. How we do this may vary from worship and praise, to service and sacrifice, each in our own way return to Him what is rightly His in the first place.
Be grateful for your blessings. Be content in your surroundings. Show thanksgiving in all things, with a grateful heart and a repentant attitude.
Amen.
