What is it, or who is it that steals our thankfulness away? I know for a fact we don’t wake up in the morning and think to ourselves, “today, I will make the executive decision to be ungrateful for everything in the world.” Therefore, since it is not an intentional problem, there must be some underlying factor that steals away our ability to be thankful. Sometimes it can even be seen in our prayers. One of my struggles that I strive to extinguish is the typical generic prayer of thanks – “Lord, thank you for all the many blessings.” God has gone above and beyond in providing for me and I need to take more time to be grateful for the details. I believe the underlying problem of ingratitude is simply entitlement. Let me explain through the example of Ahab in 1 Kings 21:1-4.

Ahab was your typical king (save your comments about the author of this article). He felt like he was entitled to practically everything. In 1 Kings 21:1, he saw that there was a vineyard next to his palace. He obviously left his manners elsewhere because he approached the owner and demanded “give me your vineyard…because it is near my house” (1Kings 21:2). The owner responded and told the king it would violate the law of God to give up this vineyard according to Numbers 36:7. The King’s response was as expected. According to 1 Kings 21:4, the king went to his room, pouted on his bed with his face turned away and refused to eat food. Even adults are not immune to throwing tantrums.

There are a plethora of lessons that can be learned from the chapter, but rewind and go back to 1 Kings 21:2. King Ahab tried to barter with the owner of the vineyard and told him, “I will give you a better vineyard, or its value in money.” Obviously Ahab wasn’t lacking in his wealth. The king had COMPLETELY forgotten what he had in his possession because he was so focused on obtaining this one thing.

So often, our sense of entitlement steals away our ability to be grateful for the people and blessings around us. I think entitlement is subjective to the stage of life you’re in as well. I don’t know your personal situation, the ins and outs of your life, but if you sit down and be honest with yourself, what are some things that you feel entitled to? A job? Waking up? A spouse? Friends? This entitled mindset often becomes the antagonist of the brightness that comes from God’s current blessings.

Tyler King