Careful! Beware! Look Out!

Most of us know danger signs! When we see red or blue lights flashing in the distance, we commonly go on alert. When we hear stationary sirens wailing nearby, we know either danger is close or something terrible happened. When an orange caution sign warns us, we immediately become cautious.

While we may know the danger signs, we often make stupid decisions in spite of the warnings. We may gawk as we pass the flashing lights to see "what happened." We may look toward or travel to the sound of the sirens to try to determine "what is going on." We may disregard the caution sign and travel through the high water blocking our view of the road.

We do not intend to become a part of the tragedy. Too often curiosity is more enticing than the warning is powerful. In the moment of curiosity, we forget the danger confronting us. In our false sense of self-suffiency, we act as if we are always more powerful than any form of danger we confront.

Years ago I lived near the foot of a vocanic mountain obscured by clouds most of the time. As I lived there, I foolishly thought, "How neat it would be to be so close to a volcanic eruption! I hope this mountain erupts while I live here!" Later by film or video images I witnessed the power of a volcanic eruption. After I no longer lived near the foot of that mountain, I knew just how foolish I had been. What I innocently thought would be a harmless but spectacular view would have been extremely dangerous if not diasterous.

Deuteronomy 6:10-15 warns that a seemingly harmless situation could be disasterous. To slaves who had so little in the past, having a lot seemed a wonderful opportunity to replace a harsh life with a good life. Moses warned, "When you become a people who have a land with incredible cities you did not build, houses filled with good things that you did not earn, a reliable personal water system you did not dig, and vineyards and orchards you did not plant, beware lest your blessings become your tragedy."

How could material blessings become a tragedy? You become so satisfied with your life that (1) you forget the God Who made your blessings possible, and (2) you forget who you used to be. As a result, you stop reverencing God. You surround yourself with gods you made who please you and depend on you. You religiously become just like the people you replaced.

The God who gave you all you have will destroy you as surely as He established you. When you worship what you have instead of the God Who gave, you insult God and make Him very angry. The issue is never self-sufficiency. The issue is always gratitude.

Ouch!

In our society we count on having so much we did not earn. In fact, we often feel deprived if we do not receive things we made no effort to produce. We are entitled to such things! Such things are not blessings! We have a 'right' to them because "we are who we are."

If someone suggests we have been blessed, we just may stare at them harshly as if to say, "What does blessings have to do with what I have? I have what I am entitled to have!" In that view, God is involved in our lives only as a last resort when it was absolutely impossible for me to be in charge of me.

Often the most dangerous situations are produced by circumstances that deceive us with their aire of innocence. It is in that circumstance that blessings easily can become curses.