To whom do we give credit for the blessings in our lives?  I hope the answer is God.  I also hope that we can acknowledge how easy it is to give credit to someone else, especially to ourselves, for the things with which we have been blessed.  The Bible warns us to beware of this.

Deuteronomy 8:11, 17-18 (ESV)
¹¹  “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today…¹⁷  Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ ¹⁸  You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

There are two warnings in this passage.  One has to do with giving credit to ourselves for what we have, forgetting that God is the real source of our blessings.  It is easy to conclude that the physical possessions that we enjoy have come because of all the hard work that we have done.  We might think something like this:

“I am the one who has gotten up early in the morning and worked hard all day to get paid.  I am the one who disciplined myself to save money to buy the things that I have.  I am the one who worked when I did not feel like it and did not quit when things were tough.  My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.”

While it may be true that we have worked hard for the things that we have, it was still God who blessed us to make it possible.  As the passage says, it is God who gives us the power to get wealth.  He has blessed us with a good job, and He has blessed us with good health to work that job.  The point is not that we have nothing to do with the reception of our blessings, but that we must not forget that our blessings begin with God, and He deserves our appreciation and praise.  Let us always remember the exhortation of James.

James 1:17 (ASV)
¹⁷  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.

The second warning in Deuteronomy 8 is to not demonstrate that we have forgotten God by failing to keep His commandments.  This can happen if we become too consumed with ourselves.    Forsaking the assembling of the saints is an example of this (Hebrews 10:25).  Why would someone disobey such a simple command?  It is because he allows his desires to become more important than the will of God.  Soon he does not consider God at all in the choices that he makes.  He becomes guilty of forgetting God.

There are many other examples we could give, but the pattern in disobedience is often the same.  We exalt ourselves above measure, which inevitably results in forgetting God.  Disobedience to God is ultimately an act of selfishness.  This is why Peter once said that those who suffer in the flesh cease to sin (1 Peter 4:1).  It proves that he remembers God, putting His will before his own, even when it means suffering temporarily.

Prove that you have not forgotten God by keeping His commandments.  In the end, remember God every day and you will reap wonderful blessings because of it, including a home in heaven.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.