Judges 12:3 And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
Entitled and Unhappy
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All of us know someone who is just never happy. It’s like their shoes are too tight or something. When they have a good day, they are not happy. When they have a bad day, of course, they are not happy. They always feel entitled to things they don’t have. They think they deserve happiness and that everyone should be deferential toward them. Such people can never be happy and rarely find joy.
In Judges 12, the Bible talks about just such a group of people, the tribe of Ephraim. When Jephthah had a great victory over the Ammonites, the people of Ephraim came and complained, “Why did you leave us out of the fight with the Ammonites? You didn’t even call us to come up and help. We are going to burn your house down upon you.” Jephthah replied essentially, “I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon. We called you to come, but you did not.” Whether this was true or not, the Bible doesn’t seem to tell us, but we do know that these Ephraimites were never happy.
There is a pattern with the people of Ephraim. Back in Judges 8, when God had used Gideon to bring victory, Ephraim had been cranky about that. They said essentially the same thing that they had said to Jephthah, “Why didn’t you call us?” Gideon was a masterful diplomat. He said, “What am I compared to you? I told God earlier that I’m from a small family and an insignificant person in that family. You are better. What was I able to do in comparison to you?” Judges 8:3 says that “their anger was abated toward him.”
In Joshua 17, it was the same tribe and the same attitude. They came to Joshua saying, “We are great people, but we only have one lot. We are entitled to more than this.” Joshua replies, “If you are a great people, then get up to the hill country and cut down some trees. Great is as great does.”
People who are never happy are going to eventually meet someone who doesn’t care whether they are happy or not. When Ephraim complained to Joshua, he gave them a suggestion and help. When they complained to Gideon, he was very deferential, kind, and humble. But when they came to Jephthah, he would have none of it. Everything he had gotten was by trusting God, working, and fighting hard. He wasn’t interested in their complaining.
The bottom line is that those who feel entitled rarely feel happiness and never find joy. I don’t know what your lot is today, but people who are grateful for what they have enjoy so much more than those who have everything but are not grateful for it. Our problem is not how much we have, but how much we feel entitled to what we have.
Every blessing, small or great, that we enjoy is from God. Those who recognize God’s generosity toward them are much happier than those who have much but express little gratitude.