Dangerous Blessings

My life has been filled with good things - a rich spiritual heritage, food, health care, shelter, and creature comforts more than I need, a wonderful wife, and great children. I get to go to work everyday in a profession I love. I know peace with God and, because of His grace, I am assured of eternal life in the Presence of Jesus. What more could a person desire? Sad to say - Plenty! Contentment eludes me too often.

How easily we are convinced that the good things that bless us are a reward for our goodness, that we have earned them, and even that we deserve more! Even McDonald's played to our sense of entitlement with a wildly successful advertising campaign built on the slogan - "You deserve a break today!"

It is easy to begin to believe that God owes us more and when He does not give us what we want, we start to complain, often bitterly. Ancient Israel is an example for the modern Church. After their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt, God provided for their every need. Most amazingly, every morning they went out of their tents and found manna on the ground, angel food that the Lord gave them to sustain them in the wilderness. Did they appreciate it? For a few weeks, then they started to feel entitled to more. The Bible says, "The riff-raff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, "Why can't we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt-and got it free!-to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna." (Numbers 11:4-6, The Message) Time and again, when God gave them something, they tired of it and wanted more.


Have you failed the gratitude test, believing that you deserve more?

Here are some suggestions for recovery of thankfulness as a way of life.
First, practice the discipline of giving, generously and sacrificially!
I am convinced that tithing (giving 10% of our earnings) is a God- directed discipline that opens our lives to greater blessings. We need to go beyond giving as a emotional response to sad stories, or because we feel pressure from a preacher. Never buy into the 'seed faith' nonsense which is self-centered, a 'give to get' scheme that prosperity teachers use to manipulate us. Disciples give of resources – time, money, love - purposefully, like an investor uses his money. We please God when we invest ourselves in worthy ministries, well run charities, and individual people that we can help onto their feet. Sacrificial giving helps us to grasp that what we have is not because we are more deserving than someone else, but because we are God-blessed.

Second, worship deeply, regularly, and from the heart!
True worship restores proper perspective. Taking a significant amount of time each day and on a special day each week to give adoration to God keeps us focused on eternal matters! Worship teaches us to listen more intently to His instructions. Worship is not about ME, but about Him; not about getting anything, but giving everything.

Third, we need to express our gratitude!
Cultivating a habit of thankfulness helps us to avoid a 'me centered' life. We keep in sight the ways that God has blessed us. We realize how much those around contribute to our well-being. Thanksgiving should not be just a day on the calendar for Christ’s followers. It should be a way of life.

Here's a word from the Word. It is an excerpt from the 'song of Moses,' which he recited for the people of Israel when he was advanced in age and near the end of his time of service. In this passage he warns them of the danger of blessings. He warned that as they ‘grew fat’ they would be tempted to forget the true Source of their blessings. I pray that these ancient words of warning will find a place in our hearts and minds today, so that we will give glory to God.

"For the people of Israel belong to the Lord; Jacob is his special possession. He found them in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland. He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as his most precious possession. Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them in and carried them aloft on his pinions.
The Lord alone guided them; they lived without any foreign gods. He made them ride over the highlands; he let them feast on the crops of the fields. He nourished them with honey from the cliffs, with olive oil from the hard rock. He fed them curds from the herd and milk from the flock, together with the fat of lambs and goats. He gave them choice rams and goats from Bashan, together with the choicest wheat. You drank the finest wine, made from the juice of grapes.

But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation." -(Deuteronomy 32:9-15, NLT)
Happy Thanksgiving!
As God blesses you, I pray it will make you rich in good deeds, full of gratefulness, and a reason for others to say – “What a God he serves; a good, loving, and wonderful Lord.”

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Thanks to God for my Redeemer,
Thanks for all Thou dost provide!
Thanks for times now but a memory,
Thanks for Jesus by my side!
Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,
Thanks for dark and dreary fall!
Thanks for tears by now forgotten,
Thanks for peace within my soul!


Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,
Thanks for what Thou dost deny!
Thanks for storms that I have weathered,
Thanks for all Thou dost supply!
Thanks for pain and thanks for pleasure,
Thanks for comfort in despair!
Thanks for grace that none can measure,
Thanks for love beyond compare!


Thanks To God For My Redeemer

Storm, August Ludvig / Hultman, John A.
© Public Domain