Privileged or blessed?

I'm blessed and thankful for many good things in my life. But lately, I've been thinking about the difference between being blessed and being privileged. In case you have not heard this term, a quick definition:

Someone who has an advantage or opportunity that most other people do not have, often because of their wealth or high social class.

I naturally tend to be straightforward and even blunt in how I talk and write so I've taken great care over the years to soften my harsher words and consider how what I'm communicating will be perceived by others.

While I don't come from exceptional wealth or high social class, I do enjoy many opportunities in life that many others do not. Some quick examples are:

- I was raised in a stable, two-parent home that taught me the value of Christian faith and hard work.
- I have a loving, faithful wife and three children under 10 who are healthy (*read: hyper*) and sharp.
- I am able to work from home in a four-day workweek in a lucrative career (*marketing*). While this industry has its challenges, there are many other challenges that I'm able to bypass because of it (*like working in bad weather or high gas costs due to frequent commutes*).

These are just some of the many blessings I could list.

As I've thought about the many blessings in my life, I've wondered about the line between being privileged and being blessed.

How can I avoid looking or acting privileged while also enjoying God's blessings in my life?

The end result of this line of thought was this tabular comparison:

I'm no millionaire but I do hope to be wealthy and completely financial independent one day. Using this table allows me to act blessed instead of privileged and spoiled.

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