It appears that the sports world has been overtaken with the “somebody-owes-me-something-because-I-am-somebody” attitude. The big 10-dollar word for that attitude is “entitlement.” It is the belief that we deserve some reward or benefit because of who we are. Somehow we think everyone owes us, and that we owe nothing in return. SportsCenter now sounds more like CrimeCenter. Athletes think they can do anything they want and that they are above the law.

Entitlement affects everyone, including you and me. It’s not just the big-time athletes. The sin of entitlement is very dangerous. Satan will trick us into thinking we have certain rights. If Satan can make the sin of entitlement look like normal behavior and not so evil, then he can get a major foothold in our lives. It is a subtle sin that most wouldn’t even call sin. It’s one that others see in us, but that we rarely see in ourselves. 

Job provides a perfect portrait of the sin of entitlement. Job 1:3 says, “He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.” He feared God. He shunned evil. He even prayed over his children. Until God calls him to the carpet, Job declares that he is “blameless” and, therefore, not entitled to this kind of misfortune. While his tragedies are, in fact, not a result of his sin, his entitlement attitude gives rise to sinful arrogance and forces God to chastise him for his words of disrespect. 

Today’s culture breeds entitlement thinking even in the church. Supposedly, if we have our daily devotions, go to church, help the old lady across the street and pray before our games, then God should at least make sure that we will win our games, play great, and bless our lives. We think God owes us for all that we are doing for Him. We think that God needs to hook us up because we have done our part. If we look at the Apostle Paul, he addresses the fact that if anyone was entitled to privilege it was him. But despite his Hebrew heritage and incredible obedience to the Law, he said in Acts 20:23, “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” Paul took the hard road, not the easy road. As he went out to start the church and never thought people owed him anything, even the people he was serving. He served them with humility.
 
It is refreshing to be around athletes who could easily have the entitlement attitude but who refuse. Look at Sam Bradford, the quarterback for last night’s runner-up Oklahoma Sooners. He is one of those athletes. All season, he has been heralded as one of the top college football players and was even awarded the 2008 Heisman Trophy. But if you were to attend the FCA Huddle at the University of Oklahoma, you would not find this Heisman winner sitting around thinking that others owe him something. He could easily have the attitude that he is helping FCA just by showing up. He could think the Huddle’s attendance would increase as a result of him just being there. Instead, however, you would find him arriving early to move tables and set up chairs and serving behind the scenes. He understands that it is not football that defines him, but Christ.

When we can accept that faith in Christ grants us the greatest entitlement of all, “to be called children of God,” then that is what truly becomes sufficient for us. As athletes, entitlement does not have to mark us. When we are clothed with humility, we will not fall to the sin of entitlement.

Today, remember that nobody owes us anything. We are nothing without Christ. As athletes who compete for God’s glory, we need to play and live with humility. It is time that Christians start living as Christians.