Tip of My Iceberg

Photo courtesy of Richard Segredo on Unsplash

I was driving home from the office, in more than a bit of a hurry, to make a doctor’s appointment for one of those women’s exams you’re supposed to get every year.

I haven’t done one of those in eight years. They aren’t my favorite things to do,

What was frustrating was that as I left our parking lot, a pair of Sandhill Cranes stood in the middle of the road, one on each side. I pulled up close to them, expecting the sound and size of an automobile to move them on their way.

They turned and stared at me. And stood their ground.

I couldn’t get around them. I wasn’t about to honk; I’m working on my patience.

So I slowly crept forward.

They stood there and stared.

I knew I couldn’t just run them over, which, in the moment, seemed the right thing to do. But these birds are a protected species in Florida, under both state and federal law. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Who makes a treaty with birds?

This was a lesson I obviously needed to learn. They approached my car, flapping their wings with disdain.

You’d have thought it was their private road.

We all have times when we feel entitled to something, whether it’s an education for our kids, decent and affordable food at the grocery store, or safety to go about our days without worrying about getting mugged or having someone scam us. We complain about all the rules that are in place, but not having those rules would mean chaos.

As Solomon said, there really is nothing new under the sun.

The Israelites, having left 430 years of slavery in Egypt, began to feel entitled to a better life while in the wilderness. Forgetting the torment and heavy labor they experienced in Egypt, they complained to Moses about the miraculous manna God provided in the desert and the water He provided from rocks. “‘If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,’ they moaned. ‘There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.’” Exodus 16:3

What they remembered was food; what they forgot were the beatings, the punishments, the depravity of living in a culture that worshiped many idols. They forgot 430 years of pain. They felt entitled to food they didn’t have then. Bondage felt safer than freedom. Their constant whining drove Moses to misery. “And Moses said to the LORD, ‘Why are you treating me, Your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?’” Numbers 11:11

Entitlement attitudes always hurt others because we put undue expectations on those who can’t necessarily meet those needs. It’s a lack of gratitude. Moses was overwhelmed by the complaints and whining of the Israelites, so he complained to God. His people had forgotten what they’d been saved from.

Everyone, at some time, acts entitled, feeling we deserve special treatment or privileges, even if we’ve done nothing to earn it. It comes from selfishness and thinking we’re better than others.

We’re not.

The Israelites felt entitled to more than they had, even though what they had was better than what they’d left behind. Like the Sandhill Cranes acting like they owned the road, these people felt they deserved better food than they had. Even though they had enough.

How much better would it be if we acted graciously toward others and didn’t think so much of ourselves?

Without squawking about it?