I spent the last five days serving as a marshal at the Colonial Golf Tournament. For those not familiar with the role marshals play; we are there to assist the PGA professionals but also handle crowd control. Golf Professionals are really finicky when it comes to noise when they have a club in their hand. We try to insure the gallery is quiet while they are in the tee box and around the greens. I serve on the team that works the 17th fairway and 18th tee box. There can be a lot tension on Friday afternoon when players are contending to make the cut and again on Sunday when the winner is determined.
Most aspects of my duties are enjoyable. I spot drives in the 17th fairway and control the crowd around the green. We also handle the walkway that the players take between the 17th and 18th hole. The duties in the 18th tee box involve controlling the crowd but also signaling the direction of the drives to the marshals down the fairway. There are some aspects that are less enjoyable; dealing with disgruntled caddies is one. Another is rude and unruly patrons. There are corporate hospitality bleachers on 17. Our task can become challenging late in the day when we are dealing with spectator who have been soaking up free booze all day. Still, overall it is an enjoyable experience, and one I look forward to each year.
There is one incident that I still carry with me from this year, and it did not involve a golfer or even an unruly spectator. I was working the area around the 18th tee on Saturday. My job was to control the gallery while the golfers were in the tee box. The routine repeats itself each time a group reaches the tee. "Hold your position. Quiet please." I announce. People normally respect that and respond accordingly. In this case one man did not. He continued to walk toward me. I judged him to be in his mid-forties. He carried himself with a degree of confidence and authority and he was dressed to match. My best guess is that he was one his way to one of the hospitality suites where he was to serve as a host. Whatever his agenda, he was not going to obey my command. He was on a mission. Golfers and their caddies can sense movement behind them and that is where he was headed. I pointed at the man and motioned firmly for him to halt. He finally did, but he was not happy. He did stay motionless until the golfers had teed off, and then he let me have it. "Don't do that to me again.!" he sneered. "Again," I thought. I sure hope I don't have to deal with you again, I thought.
Entitlement: I would define it as the guaranteed right to certain benefits because of your status. In the case of the middle-aged urban professional I encountered, he felt his status allowed him to be above the rules. Like the guest at the banquet (Luke 14:8), he felt he deserved a special place at the banquet because of who he was.
Two of the traits that many millennials disdain in Christians is a perceived arrogance and hypocrisy. To them we can appear to have a sense of entitlement. That is not a good thing when we have a Savior who preaches and models humility. I am not sure of the faith status of the arrogant man on the 18th tee, but I know what God expects of me, and I would hope it applies to you as well.
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