entitlements, jesus and the church

I am not about to make a political statement, okay? I just want to be upfront about that. But the truth is, whether we think it's a good idea or not, Americans are becoming more and more of an entitlement society. So what's that? Well, the more you feel you are entitled to something--the more you feel you deserve certain privileges--the more you are adopting an entitlement mindset.

My point here isn't to discuss the government, but it is to discuss Jesus and the church. Many Christians approach Jesus and the church the same way they approach the government--they come to/at it with an entitlement mindset. The bottom line is that we often make church about ourselves and what we feel we are entitled to receive from it. Thus, it's easy in our society to ask such questions of churches as, "Does it meet my needs?," "Am I being cared for?," "What can I get out of it?," "Are they doing things the way I think they should?," etc. Entitlements, every one of them! And it's easy to do, mainly because we are exposed to the whole 'entitlement' mindset just about everywhere we go. We must be careful, though, because falling into the entitlement trap will lead us in the wrong direction and away from the heart of Jesus who came not to receive, but give, give, give!

So, I'd like to offer a different set of entitlements when it comes to Jesus and the church. Here they are: You are entitled to surrender yourself fully to Jesus Christ. You are entitled to give yourself to serving Jesus (which means serving people...and loving them). You are entitled to commit to/connect with a small group of believers who will help you in your commitment to surrender to/serve Jesus. You are entitled to worship Jesus without worrying what you might get out of it. You are entitled to be representatives of Jesus everywhere you go. You are entitled to give up whatever it is in your life that keeps you from doing any of the above.

Well, those are my entitlement ideas, at least. A different set of entitlements than we are used to, I know. But when it comes to Jesus and his church, the question is not what am I getting (or not getting), but what can I give/how can I serve/how can I love/how can I give myself away.

So, does your idea of entitlements point to you or outward from you?