At our More Than Enough office, we often hear ourselves, and our clients, slip into some verbal language that envelops a whole belief system of entitlement.

I deserve.

I have the right to.

I earned it.

 

What is Good

I work hard and so do you. I earn what I have. The Bible says that a worker is worth His wages. In 1 Timothy 5 it states: “Don’t muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

We earn what we have, and we can eat from the fruit of our labour. It is a good thing.

What is not Good

While we can stand confidently in receiving the fruit of our labour, there is an attitude of pride and entitlement that can carry this truth into the realm of myth and lies.

Sometimes our work leads us to believe that we deserve more than we have earned, and this can lead to debt because we spend more than we earn. At the same time, we do not understand that the provision we work for, actually is sourced back to God the Father’s hands.

In last week’s blog, we talked about earning rest. It involves the idea that you work hard all week long, and therefore you have “earned” your right to go to the beach, take a day off, or have a vacation. But spiritually, in light of the love and faithfulness of Jesus Christ, we don’t “earn our rest”. He already earned what we deserved, and that is what put Him on the Cross.

If we talk about entitlement and getting what we deserve, consider this: God has written a whole book on what we really deserve, and how He sent Jesus Christ to take what we really deserved, so we could receive what we really didn’t deserve.

If you are confused, let me say it like this. We need to drop the entitlement words and attitudes of “I deserve”, “I am owed” and “I earned it”. Jesus did not deserve death, but yet died because of our sin. God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we would become the righteousness of God. (see 2 Corinthians 5:21)

He went to the Cross because of His great love.

He went to the Cross because He obeyed His Father.

He went to the Cross because if He didn’t, we would have no relationship with His Father.

He went to the Cross because if He didn’t, we would be eternally separated from Him.

He went to the Cross because if He didn’t, we would get what we deserved.

What does this have to do with Money?

Our entitlement words and attitudes can quickly lead us into debt. We might spend more than we have earned and that may lead to stress, anxiety and broken relationships. But there is more to it than that.

If we live in a place where we think we can “earn” God’s favour, we are wrong. If we believe we  “earn” the right to spiritual blessings, we are also off the mark.

God loves us. Period. The provision of His Son and the Cross is a demonstration of His love, His mercy and His grace. He empowers us to live in a way that we don’t deserve where we can’t rely on our own strengths and abilities.

We don’t earn the rest, the peace, the relationship with God. No tithe, no giving, no song, no church attendance, will make you any more or less loved by God. No tithe, no giving, no song, no church attendance, will make you more worthy to receive blessings from God. He commands us to give, obey, love, and live according to His ways and principles, but if we fail, it is His grace and goodness, and the work of the Cross that covers us.

That is part of the redemptive good news!

When you fail financially. When you blow your spending plan. When you fall and give into temptation and succumb to that addictive shopping habit, He welcomes you with open arms. Your behaviour does not disqualify you. If you don’t come, however, to His throne of grace to receive that help in time of trouble and need (See Hebrews 4:16), you won’t experience that grace, that love, that mercy, that forgiveness.

We need to Change our Thinking

And this is what I get so passionate about.

He says come and we don’t. He says I love you, but we stay mired in our failure or unbelief.

But He says come

Come to God through Jesus, the Son, to receive the grace and help you need with your finances. Don’t let your failures, or what you think are failures, keep you from Him. He will teach you and show you.

It is not earned by you, or your good behaviour.

It is by grace alone.

Not works or tithing or giving, or being nice.

It is by God’s great hand of mercy.

Not by works – in case any of us boasts.

We may think we are great with money. We may be proud of how full our bank accounts are. And if we stand in that place we stand in great danger of our pride leading us to our downfall.

On the other hand

We may think we are terrible with money, and constantly getting ourselves into debt. We may think we are undeserving of a second chance.

Either way, I cannot let  these proud, entitled or self-deprecating attitudes keep me from the help found in His throne room. He says come, and I must.

Will you join me?

Please join me.

For that is the only place you will find financial freedom, because He is the only one who truly knows what help you need.

 

Rebecca van Noppen is Communications Director at More Than Enough. She is also a teacher, home educator, writer, and woman who loves to pray. A lover of Jesus, she works alongside her husband Financial Coach Dave van Noppen to help others find hope and freedom in Christ on their financial journeys.