Entitlement in God’s Economy
Synopsis 1Kings 1:5-15 2/15/2109
Adonijah was the son of Haggith. On the basis of birth order, he considered himself heir to the throne of his father King David.
As a result, he adopted behaviors very much like his brother Absalom had done before him. He surrounded himself with a “reintue” of people and the trappings of royal splendor. In this sense, he was attempting to “speak” his election as king into existence. He was lobbying and positioning. He was politically aware.
And to this end, Adonijah cultivated favor with the power brokers of that time, who supported his father’s kingdom. So, unlike Absalom, he deliberately developed advantageous relationships with both Joab and Abiathar. He won the support of the general of the army and the High Priest of the Lord. And none of it was happenstance. For, he specifically built this network of relationships in order to assure he inherited his father’s crown.
As a result, there is little evidence that Adonijah was interested in ruling his people well. And, unfortunately, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest he wanted the throne primarily to aggrandize himself.
Adonijah the Entitled
Adonijah viewed the throne as an inherited right. In this sense, he felt like the throne and the kingdom belonged to him. And from his perspective, the title of “king”, also rightfully belonged to him. In this way, he exactly expressed the “entitlement mentality”, that we moderns
so easily deride in our own time.
This way of thinking didn’t start with modern, poor people who over-rely on the government social safety net. It began here, with rich and demanding and irresponsible royal children. “Entitlement” means – the anticipation of certain privileges on the basis of an inherited title.
Entitlement in God’s Economy
God gives kingdoms and material resources to people in accordance with their respective capacity to create value and share it with others.
And this is God’s economy. Expressed through scripture, it’s God’s way of thinking about the appropriate use of resources.
Sure, God wants to fill your life with all sorts of good things. But His view isn’t to give resources just so a person can live a decadent life of value extraction and consumption.
He’s not going to give me a new house, or a new car, or a handsome spouse, or children, or any other material thing that I dream of, unless it increases my capacity to bless others.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” Matt 6:19-21
