Office talk: Is entitlement killing your profession?

Unsplash / Vadim Sherbakov

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Romans 12:3

In recent decades, experts claim that the workplace has been transformed from a fighting ground for the survival of the fittest to a nursery full of entitled little brats -- and all the workers have their eyes on the 25-year-old millennials who want the same perks as their managers.

Millennials have been called the most entitled generation, and it seems that we are growing more popular because of our narcissism and hunger for affection and attention. Don't count me out -- I'm a millennial myself.

It seems that entitlement can be more crippling than it is beneficial. Sure we can demand for a company car, free overflowing coffee, more vacation leaves, maybe even a raise, but are we really helping ourselves? Or are we setting ourselves up for failure?

Grace is the common denominator | "For by the grace given me..."

The Bible makes it clear what we all deserve -- death and suffering. Yet by God's grace we were given life and blessing instead, one of those blessings being our very jobs. We don't deserve our jobs, but God in all His goodness entrusted to us our profession and moreover our purpose even when He knows that we may possibly just make things worse.

No one owes us anything | "...think of yourself with sober judgment"

No one owes you anything -- not your boss, not your company, not even the government. And more importantly, God doesn't owe us anything. Often Christian professionals can come to God with so many requests thinking that God owes us because we're Christians and we serve and believe in Him. God doesn't owe us anything except sober judgment, but He withheld that anyways. Truth is that it is we who owe God everything.

Faith results in humility | "...in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."

When we truly believe in the grace and power of God, we will not feel entitled to anything but will instead be joyful and grateful for everything. Success comes not in chasing after blessing, but in understanding that we are already blessed because God has redeemed us in the workplace and that every perk that comes after that is just an add-on.

What are some things you feel entitled to in the office? What things do you have now that you can be thankful for?