I recently interviewed someone for the position of a driver. Below is an excerpt of our conversation.
Me: Why did you leave the company where you worked before?
Driver: They don’t usually take care of their staff.
Me: So how do you define “take care”?
Driver: Hmm … For example, in my friend’s company, they usually give him a bag of rice during Christmas period. But that company never gave us anything.
Me: Okay, was it written in your employment letter that you will be given rice at Christmas?
Driver: No
Me: Then why were you expecting what was not in your terms of contract?
The truth is that, I knew the answer to my questions even as I was asking him. He was suffering fromentitlement mentality or go-getters mentality. Many of us reading this may have already began to throw stones at this driver, but I know that if we look closely at our lives, we would realise that we do something similar in varying magnitudes.
I have heard more believers complain that someone (Uncle, Relative, Friend, Pastor, Boss, etc.) did not help them than I have heard from even unbelievers. Many of us are go-getters; we spend more time counting the blessings others did not give to us rather than counting the blessings we gave. Our thoughts are more engrossed with how we will get from others. And it is a pity that believers with such mentality may find it difficult walking in God’s purpose for their lives. Why?
The epicentre of God’s plan for your life is centred on how you will donate to this world. As a believer, you were qualified for heaven the very moment you accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ, but God left you here so you would give something unique to this world. When you are more concerned about what you will get from this world, you are moving in the opposite direction from God. It becomes more difficult to pick the signals He is beaming at you because your mind is saying “get, get, get” and most times He is saying “give, give, give”.
If Jesus had the “get get” mentality, he would have grabbed the ‘opportunity’ to become a king, but he preferred the rugged cross over the royal chair because he was thinking of how he would give salvation. If Apostle Paul had the go-getters mentality, he would have given up when he was thrown into prison as there would be no opportunity to “get” again. But while he was in prison, the givers mentality made him fulfil purpose by preaching the gospel and writing some of the New Testament books we read today. If you see this life to be all about getting, I tell you it will be difficult to discover and walk in the unknown purposes of God for your life.
No wonder Jesus kept saying … You are the light of the world; you are the salt of the earth. In other words, you are a giver to the world. But it is unfortunate that many of us are crying that the world’s light is not shinning on us. When you start seeing yourself as a giver and a solution to the world’s problems, you are positioning yourself to walk in God’s purpose for your life; you are obeying the known will of God and that will usher you into a discovery of the unknown details.
Am I saying you should not receive your entitlements or encourage others to cheat you? No! But I’ll like you to know that the reason why you are in your family, church, workplace, ministry, community and the world at large is because there is something God wants you to donate there. So rather than singing “pass me not o gentle giver”, start singing – “I will pass not until I have given what He wants me to give …” Once you start thinking like this, you are taking another good step to easily decipher all theunknown things God wants to do through you.
– tope aladenusi
