Entitlement

Proverbs 12:9 (KJV) He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.

As I thought about the meaning of this verse and seemed to find something, I looked a little further down and saw verse 11.

Proverbs 12:11 (KJV) He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain person is void of understanding.

They both seem to be heading in the same direction.  What kind of people are despised in our culture?  Generally people who work low-level jobs, who get dirty, work with their hands.  Of course the definitions of low-level would vary with the individual.  Working with your hands could be an artist or a toilet scrubber.  The point is that some people look down on them no matter how well off they are.

On the other hand, you have those who think very highly of themselves when they have no reason to.  We’ve all seen video clips of people who have degrees in such challenging topics as “women’s studies” and complaining because they can’t make six-figure incomes to start out.  They think that just because they are noble, wonderful people they deserve the best in life.  They honor themselves.  Unless they have parents letting them live in their basement, they lack bread.

So?  For most of us it’s a little late to change our direction in life.  We have established a course and are making progress.  At the same time maybe we need to evaluate our attitude towards others and their sense of entitlement.  Don’t feel guilty because you work hard and are able to support your family while the other person sleeps in and complains about how hard things are.