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Church Leader Speaks Out Against Entitlement
Normally, I completely dissociate work and this website from my church activities, but last week, I heard a speaker who made a unique connection. I was absolutely fascinated, and it really churned up some ideas and new understanding for me. I thought some of you might be interested in it as well.
Disclaimer: Yes, there is a link below to religious content on a religious website. Yes, I belong to the religion that sponsors the link. No, I am not trying to preach. No, I do not want to start a religious debate in this thread or on this forum, though, as far as I'm concerned, everyone is welcome to make mention of their own beliefs as related to the topic at hand.
Last week, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka: The LDS Church; aka: The Mormons) held its annual General Conference. That's where all the senior church leaders gather at headquarters in Salt Lake City and hold meetings. Instead of attending a local congregation, church members worldwide watch the meetings on TV, by satellite transmission, by delayed recording, on the internet, or listen to them on the radio. It's mostly general church subjects and a little bit of church business in sermon form.
I was watching one General Conference session with my grandparents, just enjoying the faith-building spirituality of it, when one particular speaker touched on a subject I had never heard spoken of in a church setting before, and I thought some of it would be appropriate to share here because it touches on something we all deal with from our customers and then come here to complain about. This is by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a group that collectively is fourth-in-command in church leadership.
See? We're not alone! It's not just retail and service workers who get annoyed with people who think they're entitled to something they don't really deserve and who want to get everything for nothing. Others are starting to notice it and speak up about it. Now if we could just figure out a way for our entitled SCs to listen to messages like this one, maybe--just maybe--we could get them to see what problems they're causing for us, for society, and for themselves.
Should anyone wish to read the article in its entirety, click the link below. The paragraphs I quoted are in section IV.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, April 2009 General Conference
Disclaimer: Yes, there is a link below to religious content on a religious website. Yes, I belong to the religion that sponsors the link. No, I am not trying to preach. No, I do not want to start a religious debate in this thread or on this forum, though, as far as I'm concerned, everyone is welcome to make mention of their own beliefs as related to the topic at hand.
Last week, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka: The LDS Church; aka: The Mormons) held its annual General Conference. That's where all the senior church leaders gather at headquarters in Salt Lake City and hold meetings. Instead of attending a local congregation, church members worldwide watch the meetings on TV, by satellite transmission, by delayed recording, on the internet, or listen to them on the radio. It's mostly general church subjects and a little bit of church business in sermon form.
I was watching one General Conference session with my grandparents, just enjoying the faith-building spirituality of it, when one particular speaker touched on a subject I had never heard spoken of in a church setting before, and I thought some of it would be appropriate to share here because it touches on something we all deal with from our customers and then come here to complain about. This is by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a group that collectively is fourth-in-command in church leadership.
We live in a time when sacrifice is definitely out of fashion, when the outside forces that taught our ancestors the need for unselfish cooperative service have diminished. Someone has called this the “me” generation—a selfish time when everyone seems to be asking, what’s in it for me?...
The worldly aspiration of our day is to get something for nothing. The ancient evil of greed shows its face in the assertion of entitlement: I am entitled to this or that because of who I am—a son or a daughter, a citizen, a victim, or a member of some other group. Entitlement is generally selfish. It demands much, and it gives little or nothing. Its very concept causes us to seek to elevate ourselves above those around us...
The effects of greed and entitlement are evident in the multimillion-dollar bonuses of some corporate executives. But the examples are more widespread than that. Greed and ideas of entitlement have also fueled the careless and widespread borrowing and excessive consumerism behind the financial crises that threaten to engulf the world...
The values of the world wrongly teach that “it’s all about me.” That corrupting attitude produces no change and no growth. It is contrary to eternal progress toward the destiny God has identified in His great plan for His children.
The worldly aspiration of our day is to get something for nothing. The ancient evil of greed shows its face in the assertion of entitlement: I am entitled to this or that because of who I am—a son or a daughter, a citizen, a victim, or a member of some other group. Entitlement is generally selfish. It demands much, and it gives little or nothing. Its very concept causes us to seek to elevate ourselves above those around us...
The effects of greed and entitlement are evident in the multimillion-dollar bonuses of some corporate executives. But the examples are more widespread than that. Greed and ideas of entitlement have also fueled the careless and widespread borrowing and excessive consumerism behind the financial crises that threaten to engulf the world...
The values of the world wrongly teach that “it’s all about me.” That corrupting attitude produces no change and no growth. It is contrary to eternal progress toward the destiny God has identified in His great plan for His children.
Should anyone wish to read the article in its entirety, click the link below. The paragraphs I quoted are in section IV.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, April 2009 General Conference
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