Lest We Forget the Lord

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 “…When the Lord thy God…give thee…houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, and wells digged that you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant; when you have eaten and are full; then beware lest you forget the Lord…!”

In these verses, which are a continuation of the topics we have been covering, God is warning the Israelites to be very careful of the consequences of coming into a land that was already established and ready to go without them having to work to make it that way. They would be coming into a land of plenty and God knew that that was dangerous enough for them that He warned them to “beware”!

If there has ever been a time in history when we need to beware of these same dangers, it is now and in the United States of America! I believe there is a real danger in this country for all of us to become lazy and very demanding and, yes, VERY soft! As we all know, we are very spoiled with things and variety of every kind from cereal to toys to shoes and on and on it goes! We allow our children to get caught up in this mindset because everyone else is there and it is easy to just get on board. Our children are bombarded on every side by things and stuff that they have in no way worked or paid for and it is so easy for them to become demanding and dependent on these things for their security, for their recreation, for their joy, etc. Does it surprise us that many young people from Christian homes are walking away from their faith and serving the ‘god of the stuff’? Does it surprise us that church has little or no relevance in their lives or that they are “forgetting the Lord”?

One of the most dangerous things in our culture, in my opinion, is all the ‘stuff’! I believe that it is part of the plan of the ‘god of this world’ to get all of us to be dependent on all that is in the world and get our eyes off the real meaning of life. He is not happy to just keep people from becoming born again, but he wants God’s people to have so much stuff that they are soft and not able to enjoy life without it! I believe there is going to be a day of reckoning for all of us here in this country and I wonder if we are going to be able to endure. Are we strong enough to stand and take our place on the Lord’s side should that day come in our lifetime? What about our children and grand children? Are they going to be able to stand for their faith? Will they even know what it is they are to stand for? I am not trying to be a doomsday person, but these are things I think we need to think about as we walk through this life.

I know it is very hard to live within this culture and not get caught up in all that is available. The first thing we need to do is to watch where we as the adults are with this problem. When you or I go to the store, do we determine whether to buy something by whether we can afford it or is the decision based on our need for such an item? Do we find ourselves being careless about such things as eating out just because we have the money? Are we more wasteful because we don’t need to be quite as careful as we used to be? I believe it is Larry Burkett who said something about finding the financial level at which you are comfortable and then stay there. In other words, don’t let your income level dictate how much you think you need. And, try to look at life through the eyes of your children. It is within your power to determine how your children look at their needs and wants. They should rarely receive things just because they ‘want’ it. Receiving gifts for birthdays or Christmas are the rare exceptions to this concept. Most often children should receive things that they need or things that are good for them to have. If they get into the habit of receiving things just because they want them, you are setting them up for a lot of difficulties down the road. (I will cover this topic in detail in a later discussion.) It is VERY good for children to have to earn and save up for some of the things they need or would like to have. Children need to learn the concept of working for things at an early age as it will give them a connection between work and having, and will build the beginning of a good work ethic, which is a Biblical concept, by the way!

It is my prayer that we can all get a handle on these issues and raise children and grandchildren who won’t forget the Lord! In this world, the last thing we need to do is to forget the One who is our source of everything we need to get through each day. Let’s set Godly examples in this area of wanting the ‘stuff’ and let’s pass on to our children the ability to live a Godly and contented life. Remember: “Godliness with contentment is great gain!” I Timothy 6:6