And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. —Deuteronomy 8:18
I love the story of the man who invited his rude, brusque boss home for dinner. True to form, the boss was short and abrupt throughout the meal, puffed up with self-importance and showing little appreciation for all that the man’s wife had done in preparation for the dinner. As the meal went on, the couple’s young son continually stared at his dad’s pompous boss. Irritated, the boss finally blurted out to the little boy, “Son, why do you keep staring at me?” to which the boy replied, “My daddy says you’re a self-made man.” In return, the boss puffed out his chest and replied with a smirk, “Well, your daddy’s right. I am!” Puzzled, the boy looked at the boss and said, “Then why’d you make yourself like that?”
I have often wondered what the angels must think as they interact with those the Lord has called His own. Privileged to see God in all His glory, they yet, as Hebrews 1:14 says, minister to us who will inherit salvation. I wonder if we don’t sometimes appear to them like the boss did to the little boy. I wonder if perhaps they look at us and ask themselves, Why do they act like that?
In Deuteronomy 8, the Lord reminded Israel that which James told the church: “Every good and perfect gift comes from above” (James 1:17). To take credit for anything good that comes into your life is like taking credit for breathing. If you possess a strong mind to understand great things, you got it from God. If you are blessed with a strong back that enables you to carry great loads, you got it from God. If you benefit from a great will and determination to better yourself and the world, that’s right, you got it from God.
It is the Lord God who gives us power—period. Pride and pompousness are such ugly things, and we all know and recognize those traits quickly—in others. But let’s make sure we are not the ones puffed up with pride, for the fact of the matter is, whatever we have or whatever good we have done, God gets the credit because He is the one who gave us the power to accomplish it. Whether we have gained wealth or become a teacher, an athlete, a financial advisor, a sanitation engineer, or a domestic princess (the toughest job of all), to God be the glory for the great things He has done!
God made a covenant with you and me through His Son, and it was established on the cross of Christ. So let’s face today with hearts of thanksgiving, not self-importance. And remember, anything we can do is because of God alone!
Excerpt from “Body Builders” now available on Amazon.
