Don't Drink The Poison of Entitlement!

All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it.  1 Corinthians 12:28 NLT

The more I am part of the Body of Christ the more I see it as a gift from God.  However, when individuals in the Body of believers think independently of the concept of the Body then an entitlement attitude arises in hearts and minds that is like cyanide to their spirits depriving the larger Body of Christ.

en·ti·tle·ment

inˈtīdlmənt,enˈtīdlmənt/

noun

1. the fact of having a right to something.

   "full entitlement to fees and maintenance should be offered"

   synonyms:

   right, prerogative, claim; More

   • the amount to which a person has a right.

     "annual leave entitlement"

     synonyms:

     right, prerogative, claim; More

   • the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.

     "no wonder your kids have a sense of entitlement"

Entitlement like cyanide is a toxin that kills the body.  When believers view themselves individualistically, meaning what they are doing they are doing on their own and they must only think of their needs.  And in their need if they  expect that they are deserving of the rights and privileges that come as being a part of the body of believers yet they withhold their thinking from the conformity of scripture in this area, then they are deceived.  

Christ commands that we work together to show the world the system of the kingdom in which a variety of personalities and giftings come together to supply for one another corporately, not only for self.

The world's god is self so the church should look and act differently!  We are called to serve one another in love and sacrifice our lives for the good of the Body.

Jesus was a suffering servant and He called us to undergo suffering for His sake and the sake of His church as well.

We are not in this alone but our wrong thinking can lead us down this path of estrangement within the Body of believers.  What we "think"  has a bearing on our attitude toward other believers.

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning;

Don't think you are better than you really are.  Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.  Just as your bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body.  We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.  

We are then not called to live as isolated islands within the Body of believers, constantly "thinking"  that no one is seeing or using our gifts or withholding specific gifts from the larger body.

 When we drink the poison cup of comparison among anyone, but especially God's people, we die a slow and painful death inside.  We deprive ourselves from the life giving breath and blessings associated with being a part of the Body.  

The mechanism by which cyanide causes death is by cutting off the production of ATP (the energy that we need to survive) by inhibiting the mitochondrial enzyme cytochrome c oxidase.

In essence, cyanide interrupts the last stage of cellular respiration where oxygen is bound to the final molecule in the electron transport chain.

Individuals that have been poisoned with cyanide die from oxygen deprivation even though their cells have access to plenty of oxygen.  The entire system fails as a result of this one little detail.

When we think we are alone yet we are surrounded by a body of believers our thinking has been corrupted by a lie from the world, our flesh and the devil that we are on our own.

Scripture clearly states that we are all in this together but our thinking can corrupt our perception of this reality that is important detail for all of us functioning as one in Christ.

Just like all the systems of the body are interconnected and dependent on each other so the Body of Christ must be in order to function properly.

Let us not drink the poison of entitlement which lulls the believer into a worldly mindset in order that they might die a life deprived of the oxygen that God has so richly provided through the ever-present
church!