This is a wake-up call for me. Sometimes what you want is not what God wants for you. Sometimes God shoves you in a different direction without knowing why. That was me a few weeks ago.

I felt I was entitled to the STEAM job at our school. I thought I was a shoo-in for the position and it was going to be given to me. Boy was I wrong!! Head to this post to read what happened HERE.

I was mad at God. There is something bigger and better that God wants for me. I have to be patient and wait for it and be thankful for all the many blessings he has given me.

As a teacher, I have seen numerous children walk through my door over the years and it seems as if their sense of entitlement is getting worse every year.

It is hard to watch because the generation I came from not everyone gets a participation ribbon, things you wanted weren’t delivered in two days, and your parents listened to the teacher, not you. I didn’t get my first cell phone until I was married and 21! (Mainly because they weren’t invented and in the mainstream yet.) And even then, I had to work for my cell phone. It wasn’t just handed to me as a gift at Christmas.

I found this great meme on Facebook from Bored Teachers. I think it really illustrates how teachers feel today.

I see some entitlement in my younger son and part of that was our fault as parents. We had all three sons 18 months apart so there were moments when we had to triage what was most important. Chris was usually on the back burner.

Many times when I had my three young ones in tow at Walmart or the grocery store, when any one of the kiddos was making a fuss I would just grab something off the shelf just to keep him occupied so I can get my shopping done and get home.

Chris learned very early on that this instant gratification thing works really well! Luckily, Andrew and Carter were a bit older so I could explain their predicament to them that it doesn’t happen every time they make a fuss. It gave Chris a sense of power, the attention that he wasn’t getting, and unfortunately, a sense of entitlement.

Now with peer groups and Amazon at Chris’ fingertips (he has to ask permission first before ordering anything), Micky and I struggle a bit trying to teach Chris how to wait and earn money for all the things he needs and for things in his future (cars, gas, etc.). His money management skills need oodles of work before he leaves us after graduation. I pray we have the strength and perseverance to help him.

When we see others who feel they have a sense of entitlement, whether it is students, co-workers, family or friends, we need to be patient with them. Help them see all that they have and be thankful for it.

When we feel a sense of entitlement, we also need to step back and re-evaluate our life and count the many blessings we have. Only then will we see that our anger towards God when we don’t receive what we want is not what He wants for us.