Tag: entitlement

Categories
motivation

Stop Making Excuses

Stop Making Excuses

There will be some challenges and problems. Have you noticed that? They especially like to show up on a Monday morning. But if we want to get anywhere, we have to stop making excuses. A quote by George Washington Carver reminds me that finding blame is nothing more than a bad habit.

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”
George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2022. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_washington_carver_158549, accessed January 10, 2022.

A while back, I read a book entitled, QBQ: The Question Behind the Question. The premise of the book is when we face a challenge, the questions we ask ourselves determines whether we take personal accountability or not.

Bad Questions

  • When is someone going to do something about this?
  • Why can’t that other group get their act together?
  • Who messed up?

Good Questions

  • What can I do to solve this?
  • How can I find a solution?
  • How can I make a difference?

Do we play the victim, or do we make things better? Is it possible a bad habit of making excuses drags us into a victim and entitlement mindset? I say the answer is yes.

We can choose to succeed by ditching the excuses. It starts with the questions we ask ourselves when we face a challenge. And the questions we ask can be a habit. Let’s do what we can today to make a positive impact instead of playing the blame game.

Categories
Christmas holiday

Entitled Christmas

Entitled Christmas

What if Mary and Joseph gave us the first example of an entitled Christmas? After all, I’ve lived around farmers most of my life. Many of my family are farmers and not one of them decided it was a good idea to have their baby in a stable.

What if Mary and Joseph spent the journey to Bethlehem complaining about the Roman government and the stupid census? Of all the times for the government to count people so they could be taxed more! Why couldn’t God make things more convenient for them?

And look at all that traffic! Everyone was passing them because an “obviously pregnant woman” would not be able to kick it into high gear. What if Joseph was steaming because they weren’t making good time?

Silent Night?

Joseph could have been very indignant that the innkeeper had no room. Even if the baby wasn’t the Messiah, shouldn’t a baby have the right to be born in a clean, peaceful environment? What if Mary gave Joseph a hard time for being unable to hustle and find a decent place for them? Couldn’t the guy book a reservation?

Then what if Mary and Joseph spent the night brooding about their situation when the shepherds arrived? Isn’t it bad enough they have to face the indignity of a stable birth? Sure, if you are stuck in a stable, I guess shepherds would be the logical next step. After all, the innkeeper is busy with all the paying guests in the warm, comfortable inn. Why not have smelly shepherds join the party with their newborn?

Entitlement Ruins Christmas

Whether it’s a gift we expected but didn’t get or a feeling that we deserve better than this or that, Christmas holiday entitlement can ruin the season. There are plenty of examples of people that make the holidays less than bright. When the season of giving becomes a time of entitlement, there is little peace on earth, or within.

Instead of encouraging a selfish mentality, we can nurture a giving spirit in our children and ourselves. Here are some tips I wrote to do just that!

We have plenty of reasons to have gratitude this time of year. And we can be giving instead of thinking about how things “should be.” May your Christmas holiday be merry and bright.

Categories
cartoon children's ministry cartoons church cartoons

Pizza, Animal Crackers & Budgets

Cartoon of two boys talking to a teacher. A boy says, "The youth get pizza and we get animal crackers? You need to renegotiate the children's ministry budget!"
Cartoon of two boys talking to a teacher. A boy says, "The youth get pizza and we get animal crackers? You need to renegotiate the children's ministry budget!"
This originally appeared in the September 2018 CHOGNews.