The Challenge of Entitlement

Scripture — Nehemiah 5:1-7 (NRSV)

Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin. For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive.” There were also those who said, “We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine.” And there were those who said, “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax. Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”

I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. After thinking it over, I brought charges against the nobles and the officials; I said to them, “You are all taking interest from your own people.”

Devotion

From one point of view, entitlement isn’t a bad thing. Suppose, for example, that you buy an expensive ticket to a Broadway musical. Because you have this ticket, you are entitled to sit in a better seat than the person who purchased a relatively inexpensive ticket (not that tickets to Broadway musicals are ever really inexpensive!). To use another example, if you suffer from a kind of physical disability, you can get a handicapped parking pass. With that pass, you will be entitled to park in an especially good parking space. Entitlement means you have the right to some benefit or privilege.

There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with entitlement. Yet, unfortunately, certain people feel they are especially entitled to certain benefits or privileges they have not earned. Often, those who feel entitled are born into families of wealth, power, or honor. They assume that they deserve special treatment because of who they are, not what they have done.

In the fifth chapter of Nehemiah, we encounter the challenge of entitlement. The chapter begins by focusing on the plight of those who were not entitled. Because they had limited financial resources, they had to pledge their property or borrow money to get food for their family or to pay their taxes. Yet, there were some Jews who because of their wealth or power, were immune to such sacrifices. Because of their sense of entitlement, they didn’t have any hesitation about loaning money to their Jewish brothers and sisters at a decent rate of interest. They felt entitled to do this, even if it took advantage of their fellow Jews or even led to those Jews losing their property. Entitlement says, “This is my right. I deserve this.”

That’s not what Nehemiah said, however. He “brought charges against the nobles and the officials,” those who lived and loaned as entitled people. Nehemiah said to them accusingly, “You are all taking interest from your own people” (5:7). This was not only taking advantage of their situation to the detriment of their Jewish kin, but it was also breaking the Jewish law (Deut 23:19). Why would the nobles and officials do such a thing? Well, in addition to their inattention to the Law of Moses, they acted because they lived a life of entitlement. They believed they were entitled to blessings even if that hurt other people, including their fellow Jews.

Nehemiah was a different sort of person. Arguably, given his position in the Persian royal court, he was the most entitled man in all of Judea. He could well have used his privilege for his own personal, financial benefit. But he rejected this option. Like the Jewish elites, he and his companions were lending money and grain to the needy Jews (5:10). But unlike the Jews impressed by their own entitlement, Nehemiah & Co were not charging interest on their loans. They rejected the temptations of entitlement in favor of the rewards of generosity and community.

In your leadership, you will likely encounter people whose sense of entitlement is a problem. They will resist your leadership because they see themselves as special people deserving of special privileges. Your ability to confront their selfish entitlement will depend, not only on what you say, but also on how you live. Notice that Nehemiah confronted the entitlement of the Jewish upper class by his personal example more than his words. He could honestly say to them, “This is how I’m living. Now you do the same.” In response to Nehemiah, that’s exactly what they did (5:12).

I’m not suggesting that it’s always wrong to be entitled to something. But I am encouraging all of us to consider ways in which we are entitled and to decide whether these ways are good and godly or not. For example, I know a pastor who, when he began his tenure at a church, noticed that he had the best parking space of all, right next to the church. Other staff members had neighboring parking spaces. But this pastor worried about what this said to others, especially visitors and those with limited physical abilities. In a sense, he was entitled to his excellent parking space. But he decided to forgo his entitlement for the sake of ministry. He moved his “Reserved for Pastor” sign to the parking spot farthest away, inviting others to follow him if they wished. They did indeed follow him, moved more by his example than his words. The parking spaces once reserved for staff were then given new signs that identified them for visitors and older adults.

When I think of people giving up their entitlements for the sake of others, my mind goes to an astounding passage in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In chapter 2, beginning in verse 5, we read, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Phil 2:5-8). Talk about relinquishing our entitlements! We who follow Jesus and challenged and encouraged to imitate his example, to give up our entitlements in order to devote our lives to service.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here.