June 15, 2018
Don't show contempt
for the riches of God's kindness, forbearance and patience, it is intended to
lead you to repentance. Romans 2:4
Blessing is given to
motivate us to worship, not become more selfish.
There’s an old saying: Never look a gift horse in the mouth. I know that you can tell a lot about a horse’s
health by looking in his mouth, but don’t imagine that would be the first thing
I would look at if I were given a horse.
However, the same principle applies to anything ever gifted to us, and I
have many times started mentally critiquing the gift before considering the
kindness of the giver.
God’s Kindness is the most abused
gift ever given. People not only have
received his patience, mercy and kindness daily, but then turn around and
demand it from God tomorrow. So many
people pray for God to bless them without ever giving God the time of day in
worship or devotion. If it weren’t for
His incredible love and patience, we would be starved for blessing because of
our ingratitude.
To be even more blunt, many people
use up the blessings of God for selfish interests, then complain when the debts
are mounting, or their schedule becomes unmanageable. God provides people a job and they start
complaining about work. God gives us a
spouse and we look to dump them for the next attraction. God provides us freedom to worship, and we
choose instead to spend our time on the sports field or sleeping in. God gave us blessing – we turn it into a
curse.
According to Paul, the purpose of
blessing is not to make us happy, it is given to direct us to holiness. God’s patience and mercy are a calling for us
to repent and turn to Him, not walk away with our hands full. Don’t waste the blessing, use it for what God
intended. Allow every daily gift He gives remind you to make God your first
priority.
How different would money be
handled if we saw it as a kindness instead of an expected payment. What would we do differently with our time if
we saw each day as a gift from God to live for Him, instead of being expected for
our own activities. If families and
marriages were seen as a special blessing, how would it change the way we live
in our families?
Here’s a simple exercise to
try. Take one day (or one week), and
record in a notebook every blessing you are given by God – big things and small
things. Then consider what those
blessings are supposed to do in your relationship with Jesus. Allow every blessing to both BE a praise to
God, and BE Used for praise to God.
Don’t waste your blessings on
yourself. Use them for the great purpose
God intended.
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