by Daniel H. King, Sr.
Synopsis: What is the entitlement mindset? In this introductory article, we define the term and illustrate its usage, comparing the propaganda of the progressive movement with the Biblical worldview that emphasizes accountability.
There is little doubt that the changes wrought in society during the last few years have brought about an enormous reconfiguration of the views of people generally in this country. Pollsters inform us that people have moved away from many of the traditional beliefs that Americans (and Westerners generally) have up until recently generally embraced. There are many reasons for this. Government actions in the form of intrusion into and interference in certain aspects of our lives may be responsible for some of this. Government money (borrowed from our grandchildren) has been thrown at a multitude of problems in recent days, in an effort to buy votes for politicians, and this free money has led people to believe that it somehow "grows on trees" and that, therefore, there will never be an end to it.
The constant propaganda films from Hollywood, along with the incessant drumbeat of liberal and socialist agenda items heralded from the left-leaning, progressive media has forced a good many people to rethink their belief systems. For example, we are told that homosexual marriage had very little approval in the general populace only a decade ago, whereas the numbers have risen steadily upward with the constant barrage of media stories about the "victims" of intimidation, harassment, and discrimination. Hollywood's concerted effort to "normalize" this perversion has also played a part in this rapid change. All of this has come at the expense of Christianity, and the Judeo-Christian ethic generally, as such virtues as moral purity, personal independence, and hard work have been pushed into the background to make way for the new way of seeing life and the pursuit of happiness. In the popular media, Christians have been portrayed as bigoted, hateful radicals who have no compassion for these helpless victims of their alleged hate crimes. This is one of Satan's oldest tricks (cf. Isa. 5:20).
Likewise, progressives in both political parties have hammered the public with the notion that certain privileges which people in the past enjoyed only if they could pay for them, are in reality to be seen as the inherent and inalienable rights of one and all. Sadly, people do not have the knowledge or logical facility any longer to reject these obviously foolish notions. This is the case here in the U.S., because the broken public educational system has failed to teach our children the true nature of their rights under the Constitution, as outlined in the Bill of Rights. Most people these days have never read the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, and have no inclination ever to do so. This is a recipe for national catastrophe.
Also, the recent expansion of the welfare state at the national level has featured the obviously destructive process of putting people back "on the dole" for life. Ads were run to collect the names of potential people who might be added to the rolls, and the usual limitations were intentionally relaxed to enlarge these lists. All of this was done with the best of intentions! The government has operated under the assumption that such largesse handed out through the various social programs represent a cure-all for the perceived injustices of the past and present. Hence, a large segment of the population believes that this is how things ought to be and that this is the reason that government exists. The government is supposed to take care of all of us!
The Bible addresses this topic, like so many others, and Christians should know what Scripture teaches on the matter. Simply put, it says that government has the responsibility of protecting the innocent from the criminally overbearing and punishing the wicked when they break the law (Rom. 13:1ff). None of this matters to those who have heard the siren song of "free stuff." Most people are unconcerned about what the Bible and the U.S. Constitution say. The Bible is our spiritual basis in divine law. The Constitution is the written basis in human law in the U.S.. None of this matters anymore. Even some Christians have bought into this new way of thinking, sold to them by the politicians and the media elites, and so the entitlement mindset has established a beachhead in the American mind, and even in the mentality of many in the church.
People have become comfortable with the notion that the government ought to take care of them from the cradle to the grave. They are especially comforted by the willingness of the Nanny state to provide them with a never-ending list of things paid for by their unfortunate fellow-citizens who suffer the confiscation of their wealth to "even things up" and assure that there are no inequalities in society. After all, it is the responsibility of the All-Powerful State to "redistribute wealth," is it not? Or, so the thinking goes.
Now, the upshot of this is that several beliefs which are patently false and destructive to the fabric of any free society are now apparent in the thinking of a great many of our fellows. In fact, they have become enshrined in their thinking processes, and these convictions are difficult to unseat. All of us have become aware of this in recent years, because we have had to deal with these ideas as they are espoused by our friends and neighbors, and in some very unfortunate instances, by some of our relatives and families.
Despite this, ours must continue to be a biblical worldview. We cannot afford to be tainted by this omnipresent but fallacious thinking. So, let us mark in our minds the main ingredients of this unfortunate perspective, to avoid it, or when given the opportunity to do so, to correct it when we hear it given voice in the mistaken sentiments of our friends and brethren:
Inability to accept personal responsibility. On every hand, people who have brought troubles upon themselves by bad choices or unhealthy and unwholesome behaviors are told that it is not their fault. They are victims of circumstances, or else of the unfairness of an unequal system that has brought them to ruin. As a result, they learn to blame everything on something or someone else, and never to acknowledge their own guilt in their consequent misfortune. It is disgusting to observe this tendency in fully grown adults which is typically indicative of small and thus immature children!
Inability to appreciate the fact that our actions bring about consequences. People are told that they cannot make it in life because they were born and raised in a slum, or that the racism or bigotry of others keeps them from success, or that they deserved to be "socially promoted" from one grade to another in school in spite of failing grades, or else that their grades should be inflated and "graded on a curve" despite the fact that they have made no effort at all to study or prepare. They are taught to be lazy and shiftless by foolish liberals who condemn them to a lifetime of helplessness, misery, and dependency because of their "soft bigotry" toward certain races and social classes of people, and so, their unwillingness to hold them to account for their attitudes and actions. God will hold us responsible for our words and deeds (2 Cor. 5:10, 11; Rev. 22:12). Therefore, to help form fully-mature adults, we must teach young people responsibility and accountability for their attitudes and actions.
Inability to appreciate the sacrifices made by others. We all enjoy the freedoms of an open society because of the sacrifices of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have fought and died to allow us to enjoy such a blessed situation. We ought to honor their service and their sacrifices. Yet, many are taught today to despise the military man or woman who serves in uniform because of their "militarism" and willingness to fight for our way of life. They bask in the sunshine of freedom while poking fun at the very people who have made such freedoms possible! Such hypocrisy and thanklessness ought to be repaid with deportation to some other place of domicile! There "ought to be a law" and such an entitlement mentality deserves special treatment.
Inability to understand that privileges are gifts from our Creator, rather than the merits of the "special" individual. Society's "privileged class" has seldom ever enjoyed a station even remotely comparable to what is enjoyed by those of our day. Yet, many never pause even once to thank the Giver of all good and perfect gifts for any of His blessings (James 1:17). The Bible recognizes that we are all different, but possess "gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us" (Rom. 12:6). "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor. 4:7). Many such folks "spout off" about how everyone should share their twisted views of reality as if they were intellectual giants, when in fact they are mental midgets. The Lord does not want His people to partake in such vaunted arrogance or haughtiness. Humility is to be preferred for the disciples of Christ (James 4:6, 10).
Inability to be answerable to stand on one's own two feet and provide for self and family. Our forefathers in this "land of the free" were fiercely independent and self-sufficient, encouraging in their fellows self-sustenance and personal responsibility. They would never have sat still for a government of leaders who wanted to preside over and regulate every aspect of their lives (loss of freedom) for the sake of "cradle to grave" provision (the right to eat—whether we work or not, guaranteed employment if we prefer to work, the right to health care, the right not to be offended, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum). As the children of the Founders, we ought to reject all such creeping socialism with its encroaching rules and regulations and elect men and women who have imbibed the spirit of the first Americans and rejected this alien spirit of dependency and irresponsibility that so permeates society today.
Inability to appreciate the fact that "rights" are from God; they are not the gifts of a sovereign State. Those very wise men who wrote our Constitution understood that God is the giver of rights, civil or otherwise. The only thing the State can do is recognize what God has already given to its citizenry and restrict its powers to those areas where God has not already staked a claim. What the State can grant or give to us, it also has the power to take away from us! This our Founders understood, and therefore they wrote our founding documents as they did, limiting the power of the central government and liberating the individual. They rejected the authority of the British monarch over them because he trampled upon their God-given rights. This he had no right to do. This no ruler has the right to do. Thank God, by their wisdom and their sacrifices, they guaranteed to us the rights and protections of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Our children must be taught these rights and protections, or else they will fail to recognize the dark shadow of an overreaching power-hungry State when it seeks to impose its will upon them, or else they will lose them forever. The slavery of regulation is the inevitable concomitant of acceptance of government gifts. As explained in Virgil's Aeneid (Book 2) regarding the wooden horse left at the gate of Troy: "Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts." Let government keep its gifts, and we will keep our freedoms!
Inability to make the distinction between the "pursuit of happiness" and a guarantee of happiness. The former is what our Constitution promises us; the latter is a pipe dream, a "pie in the sky by and by" piece of political propaganda. In this physical world, there is no such state of being. That is what heaven will be like. Progressives promise us heaven on earth, but their promise is a lie. They give with one hand and take with the other. As long as freeborn men are permitted to enjoy their freedoms without hindrance or interference from an overbearing civil State, the government can keep their "freebies"! Free people can provide for themselves and their families, but only when they are allowed to remain free.
The Lord's people must not be tempted to fall prey to popular but false philosophies (Col. 2:8). The entitlement philosophy is one of those unsavory ideological approaches to life. Such "empty deceptions" come and go with each passing generation. Our ideas and attitudes ought to fully conform to God's Word and to its sacred teaching.
Author Bio: Daniel H. King, Sr. preaches for the Locust St. church of Christ in Mt. Pleasant, TN. Their website lscoc.com. He can be reached at danielhking@hotmail.com.
