NUGGETS…from the WORD of GOD
THE PERIL OF PROSPERITY
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. —Deut. 8:18-19
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The Son of God made the explicit statement to His disciples, “without Me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Subsequently the apostle Paul declared to the pagans in Athens, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things…[Acts 17:24-25].” Life and breath are essential to productivity, and these are given and extended by God Himself. Take God out of the mix, and “nothing” is the result.
Mankind in general is either ignorant of or indifferent to this monumental fact, but for the believer it should not be so. In the context of our nugget for today God describes the riches of the promised land into which Israel was then entering, and the prosperity that would result for His people. In the same breath He issues this warning that His people need to keep ever before them their dependence upon Him for the maintenance of their wellbeing.
There is a very real danger that believers will assign success and wealth to their own efforts and lose their sense of dependence upon and respect for God. The Savior told the story of “the rich fool” whose “ground…brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God [Luke 12:16-21].”
The rich man in this instance, of course, was not a believer in the true sense of the word, but his attitude has destroyed the spiritual potential of many a “successful” Christian. It is God who gives the “power to get wealth,” and in the life of the prosperous Christian this should generate praise, not pride, and commitment to God, not self indulgence and self glory. God is the first cause in everything, and this we are to recognize and respond to appropriately. Paul asks, “…what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (I Cor. 4:7) Whatever I have as a Christian, be it little or much, it is not “mine,” but His, committed to my trust.
We live in a nation where prosperity has generated a false sense of security and self-sufficiency that is threatening to destroy us. It is vital that believers resist that danger. We cannot change the attitude of the nation, but we must carefully check our own interpretation of wealth, its Source and significance.
With our text and its context as a backdrop, let us hear the words of the Savior to His disciples following the parable of the rich fool:
“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you [Luke 12:22-31].”
If our prosperity tempts us to “forget the Lord our God,” it threatens to induce a poverty of eternal dimensions.
—"Pastor" Frasier
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9/1/12
These "Nuggets," including past issues, are now available online at
http://wmf14227.blogspot.com/ - or - http://pastorfrasier.blogspot.com/ prior to 4/1/12
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