You’re Not Entitled

WHAT YOU AREN’T - Chapter 9

What do you deserve?

Have you ever really thought about that? 

At any given time, you may think you deserve:

Answers.

An apology.

Appreciation.

A reward.

Respect.

Success.

A second chance. (Or maybe a seventh?)

But do you really deserve any of those things?

Let me turn the tables for a moment. 

Have you ever refused to answer someone who questioned you?

Have you ever withheld an apology?

Do you sometimes forget to express your appreciation for others?

Have you ever failed to reward someone when you had the chance? (Or at least provide positive feedback on a customer service survey?)

Have you ever disrespected anyone (publicly or privately)?

When was the last time you helped someone else be successful?

There are very few guarantees in life. Hard work doesn’t guarantee wealth. Being honest doesn’t mean other people won’t lie to you. Doing well in school doesn’t ensure success beyond. Being kind won’t guarantee that others will be nice to you.

Bottom line?

People aren’t obligated to respond the way you want. The world doesn’t “owe” you anything. 

What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us. (1 Timothy 6:7-8, GNT)

It should be.

But sometimes (most of the time) we want more.

We want all the things. 

We want romance, comedy, adventure. (Hard pass on horror and tragedy, thankyouverymuch.) We want to be appreciated, admired, adored. We want an easy path, happy relationships, a comfortable life. All the good stuff, none of the bad/hard/sad.

He (your Father in heaven) lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. (Matthew 5:45, ERV)

God is the only one who guarantees blessings. 

People aren’t so reliable. They don’t respond the way we’d like. They don’t check in enough… or they pester us. They don’t say sorry. Or thank you. They don’t love us the way we crave. And sometimes they stop loving us altogether. Or, worse yet, betray us. 

They get to choose how to live. And so do we. 

We can choose to forgive people when they wrong us. We can choose to count our blessings… or complain. We can choose to work hard - regardless of whether our work is appreciated and rewarded. We can choose to be content with what we have.

Or we can play the comparison game. 

(Social media has elevated this game to an envy-inducing, joy-stealing, soul-crushing sport.)

Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that war within you. You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people, but you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You do not get what you want, because you do not ask God. Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things so you can use them for your own pleasures. (James 4:1-3, NCV) 

Learning contentment requires practice. A lot of it. And a shift in focus. Instead of being fixated on what we think we lack, we turn our attention to God, thank him for who he is, what he’s done, all he’s bestowed on us. We remember his promises to provide “everything we need for life and godliness.” (Note to self: need is not to be confused with want.) 

And - even more difficult - we learn to wait on his timing.

That’s true contentment.

Despite his suffering, imprisonment and that permanently embedded “thorn in the flesh,” the apostle Paul became a shining example of how to live contentedly. 

I am telling you this, but not because I need something. I have learned to be satisfied with what I have and with whatever happens. I know how to live when I am poor and when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of how to live through any kind of situation—when I have enough to eat or when I am hungry, when I have everything I need or when I have nothing. (Philippians 4:11-12, ERV)  

When it comes right down to it, we’re not entitled to anything from anyone in this world… or from God. In fact, because of our own envy, greed, bitterness, selfishness (and countless other sins), we deserve condemnation. 

A guilty verdict for our undeniable wrongdoing. 

Hell.

Instead, Jesus offers mercy and grace and the gift of a heavenly “happy ever after.” 

Crazy, right?

Yet there is one ray of hope: his compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day. My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him, to those who seek for him. (Lamentations 3:21-25, TLB)

Here’s the catch though. There’s a prerequisite for mercy.

We have to get low.

Humble ourselves. Seek God. Bare our souls. Get comfortable being uncomfortably honest. Admit our mistakes/sins/self-made messes. And ask for help from the only One truly able to fix what's broken in us.

When we seek him, he promised we will find him. When we knock, he always answers, opens, welcomes, blesses. 

Indescribable blessings!

Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Those blessings come from the heavenly world. They belong to us because we belong to Christ. God chose us to belong to Christ before the world was created. He chose us to be holy and without blame in his eyes. He loved us. So he decided long ago to adopt us. He adopted us as his children with all the rights children have. He did it because of what Jesus Christ has done. It pleased God to do it. All those things bring praise to his glorious grace. God freely gave us his grace because of the One he loves. We have been set free because of what Christ has done. Because he bled and died our sins have been forgiven. We have been set free because God’s grace is so rich. He poured his grace on us. By giving us great wisdom and understanding, he showed us the mystery of his plan. It was in keeping with what he wanted to do. It was what he had planned through Christ. It will all come about when history has been completed. God will then bring together all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

We were also chosen to belong to him. God decided to choose us long ago in keeping with his plan. He works out everything to fit his plan and purpose. We were the first to put our hope in Christ. We were chosen to bring praise to his glory. You also became believers in Christ. That happened when you heard the message of truth. It was the good news about how you could be saved. When you believed, he stamped you with an official mark. That official mark is the Holy Spirit that he promised. The Spirit marks us as God’s own. We can now be sure that someday we will receive all that God has promised. That will happen after God sets all his people completely free. All these things will bring praise to his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14, NIRV)

In other words, we won’t get what we deserve (a guilty verdict). We get what we don’t deserve (amazing grace). 

We aren’t entitled to anything… yet he bestows on us everything. 

… But just as it is written [in Scripture], “Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].” (1 Corinthians 2:9, AMP)

Glory!

That’s what he’s preparing for us. Can you even imagine?!

Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Text copyright © 2026 by Wendy Beth Holtz