20190831
ENTITLEMENT
MENTALITY
31 AUGUST, 2019,
Saturday, 21st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 ©
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You have learnt from God how to love one
another
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As for loving our brothers, there is no
need for anyone to write to you about that, since you have learnt from God
yourselves to love one another, and in fact this is what you are doing with all
the brothers throughout the whole of Macedonia. However, we do urge you,
brothers, to go on making even greater progress and to make a point of living
quietly, attending to your own business and earning your living, just as we
told you to.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1,7-9 ©
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The Lord comes to rule
the people with fairness.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord comes to rule
the people with fairness.
Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
the world, and all its
peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their
joy
The Lord comes to rule
the people with fairness.
at the presence of the Lord: for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
The Lord comes to rule
the people with fairness.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright
stars
because you are offering it the word of
life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn13:34
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 25:14-30 ©
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You have been faithful in small things:
come and join in your master's happiness
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Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples:
‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his
servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to
another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set
out.
‘The
man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and
made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But
the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his
master’s money.
‘Now
a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his
accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward
bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here
are five more that I have made.”
‘His
master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you
can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join
in your master’s happiness.”
‘Next
the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me
with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him,
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in
small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s
happiness.”
‘Last
came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you
were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have
not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the
ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered
him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not
sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited
my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital
with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has
the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have
more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken
away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where
there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’
ENTITLEMENT
MENTALITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 Th 4:9-11; Ps 98:1, 7-9; Mt 25:14-30 ]
There are two groups of
people who belong to this entitlement mentality. Firstly, there are those who are
poor, not because they were given only “one talent” as in the parable but
because they are irresponsible and uncooperative with the grace of God given to
them. They expect others to feed them and take care of them when they
are able to do some work. Instead, they spend their time idling, sleeping
and gossiping, finding trouble with everyone, making themselves a
nuisance. They like to blame society and the government for their
lack. They have this mentality that society owes them a
living. This was what happened to the man with the one
talent. Instead of making good of whatever he had, he found all kinds of
excuses not to do anything. He even blamed the master for giving him that
one talent, and because of him he did not dare take any risks. He
said, “”I heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and
gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid
your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.”
Secondly, we have the
other extreme group.
They are rich and successful in life. They work hard and have become
wealthy, famous and influential in society. But they have become arrogant
and self-centered. They think that because of their hard work, ingenuity
and sacrifices, they deserve whatever they have. They spend all the
wealth on themselves, buying luxury goods, luxury cars, live lavishly, pamper
themselves with all the pleasures and comforts without any thought for those
who are in a disadvantaged position in life. They feel entitled to this
form of lifestyle because they earned it by their sheer hard work. They are
inward-looking, concerned only about themselves with no thought for the common
good of society.
Both groups have failed
to appreciate that whatever they have is a gift from God. St Paul asked the Corinthians,
“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you
boast as if it were not a gift?” (1 Cor 4:7) What we have comes from God
alone. He is the giver of all gifts. How often do we forget that
all we have come to us as a gift; our talents, our health, our status in life,
our connections, our teachers, our career and opportunities? All these
are given. We did not earn them or make them happen. They
were given to us. For this reason, we cannot think that we are entitled
to the gifts and the fruits of our labour without sharing our gifts with
others. Whilst it is reasonable for us to keep some of the fruits
of our labour for ourselves, we must share the fruits with our loved ones, the
poor and those who are in a greater disadvantage in life. Indeed, the
goods of this world belong to all, and God has entrusted creation to us and its
resources so that we can share with all of humanity.
We must never forget
that it is our responsibility to share our resources with the rest of society. God has given us the gifts not for
ourselves. Jesus warned us, “That slave who knew what his master wanted,
but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe
beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will
receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will
be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will
be demanded.” (Lk 12:47f) Vatican
II teaches, “Attention must always be paid to this universal destination of
earthly goods. In using them, therefore, man should regard the external things
that he legitimately possesses not only as his own but also as common in the
sense that they should be able to benefit not only him but also others.
On the other hand, the right of having a share of earthly goods
sufficient for oneself and one’s family belongs to everyone. Men are also
obliged to come to the relief of the poor and to do so not merely out of their
superfluous goods. If one is in extreme necessity, he has the right to procure for
himself what he needs out of the riches of others.” (Gaudium et spes, 69)
But some of us might
feel that God is not fair.
Why did He give the first man five talents, another two and the last, one
talent? The point is not how much we are given in life but how well
we cooperate with His gifts. If we cooperate with the gifts He has
given us and do well with them, we will find fulfilment. God gives to us
differently because He created us all with different capacities. Although
differently created and endowed with different talents, happiness and
fulfilment is given to all regardless of our position, wealth and status in
life. It is not how much we own, what we have, our status that will make
us fulfilled but how we maximize ourselves. This explains why the man
with five talents was given five more; and the one with two talents given two
more. Whereas the one with one talent lost even the little he had because
he failed to realize his potentials to the fullest. As a consequence,
Jesus said, “from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken
away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark,
where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
We must therefore
cooperate with the grace of God. Instead of comparing our gifts with others or envying
them, we should simply be contented with what we have and make full use of
them. When we do that, the time will come when our capacity to do more
will be increased. Otherwise, if we are entrusted with something or a
responsibility too big for our shoes, we will end up frustrated, stressed up,
angry, disorientated and lose our happiness and health. When we fail to develop
ourselves according to what the Lord has given to us, we deserve a life that is
unfulfilled. So the problem is not God but because we fail to appreciate
the gift that has been given to us and so do not make any effort to develop
what we already have. St Paul said, “Already you have all you want!
Already you have become rich!” (1 Cor 4:8) We have all the graces
to multiply His graces if only we cooperate with Him. In truth, we have all
that is necessary to become the fulfilled person that God meant us to be. But
we are afraid to take risks, make sacrifices and inconvenience ourselves.
We want others to give us without our working for them. We are lazy and
egoistic. St Paul, too, reprimanded such people, “Anyone unwilling to work
should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere
busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in
the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own
living.” (2 Th 3:10-12)
In the final analysis,
we are accountable to God for the way we use His gifts. At the end of our life, we will
have to examine ourselves before God, how we have used what the Lord has
blessed us with in a way that has benefitted ourselves and humanity. If
we have kept our talents and our riches for ourselves, then we are like that
useless servant because we never used what was entrusted to us well. This
life is short and we are told that the master will return. We must be
able to render an account of how we have realized our potentials in life and
how we have helped others to realize their potentials as well. Let us “go
on making even greater progress and to make a point of living quietly,
attending to your own business and earning your living.”
So the key is to be
thankful for what we have been given.
A grateful person will always give back what he has received. An
entitlement mentality means such a person is never grateful. He is
demanding, calculating and self-centred. If only we understand how much
God loves us and have given to us, entrusting us with His gifts, we would use
them well and bring glory to Him. If we know how much our parents have to
sacrifice for our education, we would give our best to our studies and not
waste time and opportunity. Alas, not many young people are appreciative
of the education they are receiving because they have this entitlement
mentality that they deserve all these from their parents. Without gratitude, we
cannot be responsible for what is given to us and to society or to God.
St Paul told the Thessalonians, that “as for loving our brothers, there is no
need for anyone to write to you about that, since you have learnt from God
yourselves to love one another.” Only God can teach us to love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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