Christian Entitlements

     We live in an entitlement society.  Political liberals see it as compassionate care for the poor and unfortunate, conservatives see it as a way of keeping the poor and unfortunate content with their situation at the expense of tax paying workers, the poor and unfortunate see it as a right, even an inheritance for their offspring.  Like all taxpayers, Christians usually expect to be funding entitlements rather than receiving them.  One of the main reasons for this is that God forbids his people to be lazy, dishonest, addicted or promiscuous which is why many people receive entitlements.  A missionary friend in Brazil noted that after people accepted the Lord, the family's standard of living tended to improve, not necessarily because they were earning more money, but because they weren't spending it on gambling, alcohol etc.  This would not be applicable in places of persecution where being a Christian may cost a wage earner his job or freedom, but in the U.S., obedience to Christ generally makes us better workers and wiser spenders.
     However, I think there are a few areas in which Christians feel entitled to certain blessings from God: we all expect a healthy baby, and to die quietly in our sleep. Prayer requests are always for safe delivery of a healthy baby, funeral sermons often reinforce the expectation of the latter.  Because we reap what we sow this is generally the case.  Women who have not had abortions, STD's, have moderate lifestyles and live in more stable households generally have healthy babies, but this is not always the case.  Similarly, the healthier Christian lifestyle often reaps a gentle death, but there are many wonderful, obedient believers who die in horrendous accidents, martyrdom, or painful, lingering deaths and those are also within the plan of God.   I need to remember when life does not turn out as I expected, that  Christians are blessed, not entitled.