Entitled, ain't I?

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Recently, I read an article that spoke about how a teen was planning on suing her parents because they did not want to pay for her college education. She was a straight "A" student, and she thought that it was her right that her parents should finance her education. 

I'm all about encouraging kids to study and paying for their education as much as possible. I thought the whole suing part was a joke. But, it wasn't. The first thing that popped in my head when I read it was that she was one "entitled" kid.

False sense of entitlement is defined as the right to something you did not earn. As a parent, we dread raising entitled kids. But, we live in a culture where what we dread happens.

One of the most prevalent mindset is, “The more you give your child, the better parent you are.” So it’s easy for us as parents to feel obligated to give to our children — and pretty soon, they will grow to expect it. 

The kids then live with a totally false sense of entitlement. They believe they are going to succeed in the world by merely showing up. They don't see the integral connection between hard work or making an effort and success. This is like setting the kids up for failure even before they make an entrance into the real world.

One of the best piece of advice I received about raising kids was to not rush and give them everything they asked for. I was told to teach them to wait and to tell them 'no'. I was told that they did not need a a parent who met their needs all the time. It was essential for them to work or ask nicely for what they needed, even at their age.

The only thing worse than entitled kids is entitled adults. We expect special privileges and preferential treatment. We don't believe in good manners or showing gratitude. The whole attitude is based on "What is the next best thing you can do for me?" The world owes us something. God owes us something. We deserve bigger, better, best.

The truth is we don't deserve anything. Yet, God gives us everything we need.

The secret to contentment is having a heart of gratitude. Teach me God, to have a heart of gratitude.

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