Saturday, December 2, 2017

December 2: Of Entitlementitis and the Daniel Syndrome

Daniel 9:1-11:1
1 John 2:18-3:6
Psalm 121:1-8
Proverbs 28:27-28

"We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy."

One of the things that worries me most for myself, for my wife and for our children is infection - not so much of a disease of the body, but of a disease of the spirit.  If it were given a medical named, one might call it "entitlementitis".  Its key symptom is "the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment".  Perhaps I am reading the wrong news outlets (or, perhaps, the right ones?) but it seems to be spreading, particularly in universities, among both faculty and students.  Often those who contract the disease can be found rejecting norms, making demands of others, often times shouting "What do we want?  [Insert demand here]!  When do we want it?  Now!" with utter disregard for fact, for accountability.  Because they exist, they want; and because they want, they deserve.

Then we read about Daniel.  The amazing thing is, Daniel WAS a righteous man, in such strong and right relationship with God he was prepared to relinquish life in painful fashion (as much as bee sting hurts, I can only imagine how much a lion's teeth tearing flesh from limb would hurt!) rather than reject the Lord.  And yet, despite all that, Daniel did not presume to think he was entitled to anything from God.  Consider the verse above, spoken while praying for forgiveness, confessing the opposite of entitlement - unworthiness.  It appears that, because Daniel had grown close to God, he had developed an immunity to entitlementitis. Wow.

The absence of any sense of entitlement alone would be admirable enough; yet in Daniel's case it came packaged with a recognition of, and an unwavering faith in, God's love, mercy and provision.  And so because Daniel had grown close to God, he developed the immunity to the sense of entitlement AND the confidence that while he might not have been entitled to anything, God loved Him and so Daniel believed God would take care of everything.  I'd like to think of that as the Daniel Condition.

Father, please give us the diligence to spend time with You; please allow us to get to know You the way Daniel did, that we might develop the same immunity to the growing plague of entitlementitis, and experience peace not because we deserve, but because we know we are loved.  In Jesus's name we pray.

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