Yeshua Explored
27th March 2023
Entitlement
Why is life so unfair (boo hoo!) ?
So, it’s very much a slippery pole! How do we train ourselves away from our propensity to covet, bearing in mind that it’s a basic human nature to desire attractive things, both animate and inanimate? The rabbis suggest that it is a matter of perspective and illustrate it with the parable of the poor peasant who casts his eyes, for the first time, on the beautiful but unattainable princess. Way out of his class, on a totally different orbit. Her status is so out of reach that he has an in-built acceptance that he has no hope in coveting her hand in marriage, so the situation does not trouble him. We should think in the same way. We should accept that all we acquire is a direct gift from God, Who determines all of our needs and supplies them accordingly. No-one can interfere with this Divine plan, neither should we interfere with the needs of others, who are also partakers of this plan. So coveting is not an option. Here’s how we should think, God is the Master of my fate, not I and if I deserve to own something then He will provide it and not withhold it from me. But if we are not destined to acquire something, then all your pains or efforts to do so will come to naught, so why bother striving?
A noble thought, but the reality is illustrated in the following lines from a song produced by an American Christian hip-hop group:
We worship how we feel, we don’t worship who we should. Yeah we got it bad, and if God calls it bad we call it good. We covet what others have, grab whatever we can, whatever we want, we think it belongs in the palm of our hands, going along with a song and a dance. Worshipping idols to fulfill our entitlement issues (An excerpt from ‘Entitlement’ by Beautiful Eulogy).
Entitlement. Now, there’s a word for today. It is tied up with the idea of our rights, as if we really have any in the great (Divine) scheme of things. It is a product of the #AllAboutMe culture that we live in, encouraged, or rather, driven, by the relentless trajectory of those who call themselves ‘progressives’, with an unholy rush to jettison our Judeo-Christian foundations – which of course include the “Ten Commandments” – towards a goal disguised as a new world of tolerant inclusion but which, in fact, is a twisted utopia of aimlessness and lawlessness. Most don’t realise this as they are just going with the flow, because they are told that it is the right thing and are blinded to what lays ahead. One thing is certain – it will bear no likeness to what has been left behind. The Sinner’s Charter will be a recipe for everyone to do what they want, rather than the “original” model that was a guide for righteous living. The Sinner’s Charter is a perfect companion to those who live by the rule of entitlement.
Entitlement suggests that you drive a bigger car than your cousin Mitchell, who seems to have everything else in life. Let’s hope we can keep paying those repayments.
Entitlement considers it unfair that the scruffy bloke next door has such an attractive wife. It should be easy to steal her virtue and what fun it will be in the chase.
Entitlement compels you to add a few extra items on that insurance claim. It’s not really cheating, as the insurance companies are mega rich and, after all, it will help pay towards that Jamaican holiday you’ve always craved.
The possessions we have, whether acquired at God’s pleasure or as a result of coveting, are forms, just objects. They are unimportant in the great scheme of things. What is important though is how you acquired them, the function. If you can say that, in good conscience, that your “stuff” is how it should be, then blessings are assured. But bear in mind that this covers all aspects of your life, including your money and even your relationships. Everything belongs to God.
You shall not covet …. As we saw with the previous four Commandments, there is said to be an equivalence between this final Commandment and the Fifth Commandment, concerning honouring one’s parents. To be honest, the rabbis haven’t presented a compelling case for this, which doesn’t mean there isn’t one, it’s just that they haven’t found it yet! One suggests that someone who covets will bear children who will fail to honour him. Another suggests that one who covets another’s property is not fulfilling their duty with their own property, so how are they expected to support their parents in their old age (?). Yet another suggests that one who covets another man’s wife will bring spiritual complications to his own marriage and will give birth to children who will bring him misery! The jury is still out …
One final thought though. Coveting was, in fact, the first sin and so, arguably, the root of all evil, the sin that brought about The Fall.
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6)
We can add to this the stories of Cain (coveted Abel’s favour with God), Korah (ditto with Moses), also Balaam, Doeg, Achitophel, Gehazi, Absalom, Adonijah, Uzziah and Haman. Now there’s a little Bible study for you, if you take the challenge.
Here is how the Sinner’s Charter could interpret this final Commandment:
There is nothing wrong with having the ambition to strive to legally acquire what you don’t have. There is nothing wrong in fulfilling your desires.
This is an extract from the book, Sinner’s Charter: Are the ten commandments for today?, available for £10 at https://www.sppublishing.com/the-sinners-charter-260-p.asp
