And it shall be, when the LORD Thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Deuteronomy 6:10-12)
Reverend Cole made an interesting statement regarding the above passage. He said: "Sometimes we end up in a better place economically, but a worse place spiritually." Amen.
Verse eleven gives us an important phrase. "When thou shalt have eaten and be full...beware." It is a thought echoed again in a famous quote from the book of Proverbs. Agur, speaking prophetically, says: "Feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, 'Who is the Lord'?"
(Proverbs 30:8b-9a)
And perhaps this is why Jesus reiterated to His disciples that it is so difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. The presence of surplus is, it seems, a precursor to self-destruction. We are happy, though, for the encouragement of Christ: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).
Lord, cause us to crave the fullness of Your Spirit and abandon the excess of the world.
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