Disclaimer: This post is not about government programs or “entitlement programs,” but rather the mindset of entitlement in general. This is not a political post, but one to challenge your thinking (and mine).
This blog post came to me as I considered taking a picture of the modest studio set-up I have in my apartment. I’m proud of my music equipment and the gear I have collected over time for a hobby I love and hope to make money from someday. That being said, I also considered the reactions of people online when they question why I live in a small apartment (which is more about priorities than affordability), but I can afford multiple guitars, a bass guitar, a nice amp, and the computer setup required to record my music. But the only reason I could even afford these things is that I placed the investments over time and now have a modest collection to show off and use for my personal benefit.
I didn’t choose music over space because I don’t like space, but because I like music more and believe that there is more use to music than there is to a couple extra square feet.
But what I see when I look around our country (and, honestly, the world) is a mindset of entitlement. We are told that we deserve things we never worked for. That luxuries should be afforded to us simply because we exist. That we deserve the newest pair of Nike shoes instead of just dealing with our worn-out Wal-Mart brand pair. But the truth is, we don’t deserve luxuries simply because we exist.
Never expect a return on an investment you never made.
If I didn’t go out and buy guitars, studio equipment, and a computer with high RAM, processing speed, and storage capacity, then I shouldn’t expect to come home to a studio without shelling out ALL of the money it takes to purchase those things. If I never put money into the stock market on Amazon back when they only sold books, then I shouldn’t expect them to send me a check every quarter just because I use their services. And if I don’t invest in my marriage today, I shouldn’t expect a fantastic marriage tomorrow.
We have gotten so out of sorts with our thinking that we begin planning our pity parties when we do not receive the returns of investments we didn’t make. We see others’ successes and become jealous and vindictive instead of being challenged by their sacrifices they make/made to get those returns.
The Bible has multiple instances of “reap what you sow” lessons, but how often do we still complain that our situation has not changed? Maybe what we are doing is not working. Maybe the things we need to keep investing and wait for the returns. Or maybe we have been placing our faith in bad investments and are throwing our time, energy, and resources into a black hole, never to be seen again. But that just means we need to change our expectations of our investments. We need to evaluate the investments we have made and align them to our goals and the things that matter most to us.
You can’t make a happy marriage focusing only on your work. The return doesn’t follow from the investment. The same goes for everything in life. If Chris and I hadn’t placed money and time into the podcast, it would never have simply materialized because we had the idea one day. It would take investment.
Don’t expect returns on investments you never made. Evaluate where your time and energy is going and be honest with yourself about the state of your investments. Keep what’s worth keeping and trash the rest to reallocate those resources elsewhere. But understand that the mindset of entitlement we all slip into doesn’t make your investments any better. It only makes you bitter.
Micah Davis
The Soapbox 