In the beginning, was God! This one statement says it all. He (God) was here before anything. Everything was void (“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2) before man was created. Then God created the sun, earth, sea, and every living creature. Through His goodness and wisdom, every living creature was created. So then, man was brought into the scene (“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27).
Knowing that man was incomplete on his own, God, in His goodness, provided a companion for us. But that wasn’t it then. He even created animals, food, and even a garden for food. Yep, He thought of it all. But wait, there is more—an assignment.
Yep, like Him, man was to work with his hands and use his mind. Like God, we were given an assignment to create and name. Name the animals, work the farm, keep the garden, and take dominion. (Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26).
The Creator wanted the created to participate in His Kingdom’s work. We, as men, were empowered by our Creator to do good works like Him. With these good works, we, like the Father, partake in the blessings of His goodness. As we work hard, so come blessings from that very work. The gift of empowering His children to work and create glorifies Him and blesses us. If you are a father, you understand this principle. If you train up your children in the right way (“Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6) and see them making the right choices as they grow up, it is a testimony to you as a father––you are raising them in the Lord’s teachings to help them grow in faith and good works.
But here’s where the very blessings of God can work against His children. As prosperity occurs, humility and honor are often replaced with pride and entitlement. The journey that may have started in humility and honor has a risk of ending in pride and entitlement. If not kept in check, ‘The Slippery Slope of Success’ is often the very thing that can splinter our relationship with the Lord. Money, fame, prosperity, power, and influence may all be outcomes of our working hard and may point to the blessings of God in our lives, but they are also the very things that we, as men, can never let replace the Lord in our lives. Created things can never replace the Creator!
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” Romans 1:22-23
Notice how, in this verse, the Lord tells us that they (men) began to worship created things over the Creator. Even though they knew God, they neither recognized Him nor gave Him thanks. The very blessings of God became more important than God Himself. Why is this so important? God wants to bless us. He loves us so much that He built us with an internal assignment to honor Him and share in the responsibility while on earth. With that, we often share the rewards of that work. But when prosperity comes, whether large or small, if we fail to recognize His authority and blessing in both the assignment and the outcome, then we as men become mini gods. Humility is then replaced with Pride (“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18)!
The created has no absolute authority––only the Creator! The clay does not tell the Potter what to do or what they want the outcome to be (“But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” Romans 9:20-21).
At the foundations of Creation, our Father in Heaven knew you and I would be born, and He already had an assignment crafted for us. He not only has an assignment but will also empower that assignment. But with that, we, the clay, should never say “it’s by my works!” The clay was created, assigned, and empowered to do good works––not by any other authority but our Good Good Father in Heaven.
So, as the blessings of those good works take place, never let pride replace gratitude!
Have a blessed week,
Stephen L. Thomas