Ron Bartenan
A five-year-old girl from the city was visiting her grandparents on their farm during harvest time. She watched in wonder as they picked produce from their garden. The grandparents, thinking to use this experience as a means of teaching her about God’s provisions, let her shuck some corn and break some beans, explaining to her that the corn and beans were blessings from God. She enjoyed doing something different for a while, but after a few minutes she looked at her grandmother and said, “You know you could buy these things in the grocery store, don’t you?”
Such reactions from little children amuse us as we realize that the limited experience of children may not allow them to understand where the things they take for granted actually come from. Milk comes from jugs in the grocery store. Beans and corn come from the produce section. There is little if any thought as to how they got there. While their lack of understanding may amuse us, it is sad to realize that adults are oftentimes devoid of understanding. They take their environment for granted, with little or no thought as to how it got here. An evolutionary explanation becomes acceptable because that makes us without obligation to anyone. Even those who see God as Creator are prone to forget that He is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). God warned the people of Israel through the words of Moses:
“When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments and his judgments, and his statutes which I command thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart is lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;… and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth….” (Deuteronomy 8:10-14, 17-18a).
Isn’t it easy to forget where it all came from? After all, we sweat and toil that we might enjoy the fruits of our labors yet forget that we are dependent upon God for our every breath. What I have is mine (my family, my house, my car, my clothes, etc.). In actuality, we are but users and stewards of what God has provided for us. He declares, “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof” (Psalms 50:10-12).
When God’s nation, Israel, forgot where their blessings came from, God reminded them by withholding rain from their land and giving their land to foreign nations. Our nation, we are told, is no longer a Christian nation, overlooking the fact that our forefathers established this nation and its government upon Christian principles, which have been a blessing to us and the world. If we forget this fact, and forget God as our Benefactor, should we be surprised at an economic crisis? He tells us in Psa. 50:22, “Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” And again: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
Ron Bartenan; retired preacher living in Milton, Florida. He can be reached at ron33dor@yahoo.com
