The Entitlement Generation

This is a prophetic message. Let's make that clear. So, if you don't believe in prophets or the voice of God, go ahead and exit.

Great, now we can move on.

This is the "Entitlement Generation", the Lord told me. Knowing God is Omniscient, I asked him to break that down for me and put it in layman's terms.

Entitlement means a guarantee of access to benefits based on established "rights" or by legislation. Yes, we live in the time where everyone is asserting their rights and very few are tuned into the Creator's Rights to define and shape and mold the destiny of His Creation.

We are living in the "I deserve it, it's my due, it's my time, it's my season" generation. Well, there's a few problems with this sort of manifesto: What happens when the benefits you have been guaranteed access to are not available, or better yet, simply don't exist, and won't exist for another 10-20 generations? The other issue is many think they "deserve" benefits

• without any effort on their part
• without any work input
• without any character to maintain what they recieve
• without any permission or authority obtained

Much like the prodigal son who sqandered his inheritance, we find a generation who "do what is right in their own eyes." This type of thinking is not new under the sun, but the intensity at which we see this attitude and the behaviors associated with it has increased and become unprecedented. We have breastfed a generation on "B's & H's" , "thug life", and "do what thou wilt". The Just Do It slogan has rapidly morphed into Just Take It. If we dig into the sciptures, we will find a young prophet in training, who had fallen into this Entitled Mindset:

20 Gehazi was the servant of Elisha, the man of God. Gehazi said to himself, "My master was too easy on Naaman from Aram. He should have accepted the gift he brought. I'm going to run after Naaman. I'm going to get something from him. And that's just as sure as the LORD is alive."  

21 Gehazi hurried after Naaman. Naaman saw him running toward him. So he got down from the chariot to greet him. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

22 "Everything is all right," Gehazi answered. "My master sent me to say, 'Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me. They've come from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothes.'

23 "I wish you would take twice as much silver," said Naaman. He begged Gehazi to accept it. Then Naaman tied up 150 pounds of silver in two bags. He also gave Gehazi two sets of clothes. He gave all of it to two of his own servants. They carried it ahead of Gehazi.

24 Gehazi came to the hill where Elisha lived. Then the servants handed the things over to Gehazi. He put them away in Elisha's house. He sent the men away, and they left.  

25 Then he went back inside the house. He stood in front of his master Elisha. "Gehazi, where have you been?" Elisha asked. "I didn't go anywhere," Gehazi answered.  

26 But Elisha said to him, "Didn't my spirit (heart) go with you? I know that the man got down from his chariot to greet you. Is this the time for you to accept money or clothes? Is it the time to take olive groves, vineyards, flocks or herds? Is it the time to accept male and female servants?  

27 You and your children after you will have Naaman's skin disease forever." Then Gehazi left Elisha. And he had Naaman's skin disease. His skin was as white as snow.   (2 Kings 5)

What got Gehazi into trouble? His false sense of entitlement. I won't go into great detail because there is much to pull out of the text, I'd like to mention a few things God told me:

• What you think internally about what you deserve will determine your outward actions
• Blessings are supposed to run you down, not the other way around
• Name dropping can get you cursed or killed; if you are name dropping to get what you want, that may be an indication that your gift hasn't made room for you to recieve it
• Don't disguise your greed as benevolence; Gehazi invented a need to gain access to gifts illegally
• Just because it is offered to you, doesn't mean you have a right to it, especially if you used deciet & manipulation
• Those who are connected to you know what's in your heart, whether it be good or evil
• Recieving out of time what God has promised can curse you and your future generations

Gehazi, as Elisha's successor stood to recieve the mantle passed down by Elijah. Instead of the mantle, he and his future generations recieved a malady, an illness that was passed down due to sin. Aren't you glad that God doesn't give us what we deserve? Through the blood of Christ, we can be set free from the curse of sin, not just our own, but those committed by our previous generations!

There are three major things plaguing the Entitlement Generation. Many are Directionless, which leads to Hopelessness, which brings forth Lawlessness. But, praise God, who has given us the Spiritual weapons to combat all three.

We must instill

The Word of God which brings Direction

The Life of Prayer which fuels our Hope & Faith in God

The Life of Self-Discipline which  establishes Boundaries

Please join me in prayer:

Father, thank you for speaking this Word. I pray for those who are without direction, without hope, and without boundaries. I pray Father that you will give them vision, clarity, direction and purpose. I thank you that they will operate through Your Empowerment rather than entitlement. I thank you now, that this is the generation that seeks Your face, humbles themselves, casts their anger and frustration at Your feet, and allow you to place in their hands, hearts, minds, and mouths, the Word of Faith, Life, and Peace. May those who have sat back rise up and Empower their generation beyond a movement or a moment, beyond murmuring and complaining. May they occupy themselves in knowing You so that Your will can be done in the Earth. Amen & So Be It!