Before you read this post, I'd like to recommend you to read Luke 18:18-30 (it hardly takes 2 minutes!).
Every human desires to live a blessed life on earth. The word 'blessing' means different things to different people, based on their individual needs and wants.
For some, starting a business and running it successfully is a blessing. For oppressed people, blessing could mean holding a strong position with authority. For economically weak people, blessing may mean becoming rich and living a luxurious life.
If you look closely, these 'blessings' can all be mapped to success, power, richness etc.
Now, based on Luke 18:18-30, you might get a question - Is God not in favor of blessing us materially?
The answer is No! Here are few evidences from the Bible:
Joseph was successful in enabling Egypt get rid of the famine (which in today's world, in a sense, can be compared to a Business man foreseeing a future trouble, and solving the problem successfully by planning things ahead)
David was a King (the position with the highest Authority and Power in Israel in his times)
Abraham was blessed with servants, livestock and gold (reflecting the richness of a man in his times)
Therefore, God is NOT AGAINST material blessings.
BUT...
Every individual desiring such blessings must ask 6 important questions below and introspect!
Am I seeking God for who He is (instead of seeking Him merely to receive material blessings)?
Am I thankful to God for what I already have?
After getting my desired material blessings, will my faith still be in God (rather than people, blessing or riches) to meet my needs?
After receiving what I desired, am I sure I'll not sideline God by idolizing the blessings?
Will I put my material blessings to use solely for honoring God?
Will the material blessing stick with a person all through their life, and more importantly, even after their death?
If Abraham, Joseph and David (the examples given earlier to prove God is not against blessing us materially) were alive today, I think they would have confidently answered "Yes" to the first 5 questions above!
You very well know the answer to the 6th question is "No" for any person on earth! In this cruel world, there's no surety that a material blessing would stick with a person all through their life on earth. And even if it stays with a person all through their life, the blessings cannot follow them after their death.
So, if you're seeking material blessings from God, you must ensure that:
You're first seeking God for who He is, and not just for receiving material blessings.
Before you place your petition to God, ask yourself if you're thankful to God for what you have already! Once I felt I have nothing to feel thankful to God. This is because I've forgotten I already have my basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, good health etc. Further, I forgot the oxygen supplied due to the laws of nature (created by God) is the reason for me to even breathe and be alive. So, every person has something to be thankful to God. We fail to recognize and be thankful for, for what we have already, as we're more obsessed about getting what we don't have yet.
Next, you must also prepare your mind, to trust God and stay faithful to Him, even if your request (to be blessed materially) is denied or delayed by God. Even though this is discouraging, remember that God knows what is good for you much better than you! That's in fact the strongest faith!
Now, let's see the other side of the coin.
If you're already blessed materially, you must ensure not to keep the blessing above God. For example, let's say you got a job in a dream company for your desired salary. Now the question you'll need to ask yourself daily is if your job taking over God's place? In other words, is your faith now shifting (or shifted) from God to your job for meeting your/your family's needs? It is true that the money you earn from the job helps you meet your needs. But are you idolizing the job and sidelining God?
If yes, the harsh truth is that you are in the material blessings trap.
To come out of this trap, you must place your faith back in God for meeting your needs, and not on your job.
Please don't take it in the wrong sense. That doesn't mean you can become lethargic about your job. In fact, it means that you do your job even better, with utmost care, ultimately to honor and glorify God.
At the end of the day, everything we do (be it discharging your duties in your job, spending time with your family etc) must all be focused only on honoring God.
To summarize and say,
if everything you already have (or do), or desiring to have (or do) is focused on honoring God, and
if you trust God even after He delays or denies what you asked for,
you're not idolizing anything, and you can be sure you didn't fall into the material blessings trap.
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