Entitled

On my way into the office this morning I approached a car stalled at a stoplight, hazard lights flashing. A woman was pacing frantically on the side of the road, purse-fishing for a cell phone while commuters jockeyed their way around the broken-down inconvenience.

I'm far from mechanically inclined. At risk of being of more hindrance than help, I decided to pull over and offer what little consolation I could. Despite being Tuesday, I couldn't help but think of that disparaging comment from the move Office Space about "a case of the mondays". I walked to the rear of the car to push the vehicle out of traffic.

Realizing there was a car stalled in her lane, a woman in her mid-thirties driving a white, late-model, Soccer Mom minivan gave me a look of surprised disgust and mouthed an exaggerated "what the F*#K!?".

Classy. Very classy.

Maybe she had time to respectfully request that her delightful children apply their expletive earmuffs... but I seriously doubt it.

Her face stuck with me all day today. It was the non-verbal expression of entitlement. "How dare this little old lady inconvenience me so terribly by sabotaging her own alternator in order to break down in my lane and delay my errand by 9 seconds."

Entitlement. Wikipedia defines it as "someone's belief that one is deserving of some particular reward or benefit." I walked away with a tremendous sense of urgency to reject that "belief" wherever and whenever possible.

How do I/you view other people? Cultures? Professions? Educations? Neighborhoods? Co-workers? May we relentlessly pursue a perspective of grace and gratitude... and enjoy the deep relationships and low blood pressure that are sure to follow.