Then you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:17)

The Illusion Of The Self-Made Man

The nation of Israel prepares to cross the Jordan River and take the land promised to their forefathers many years before. Moses speaks to the second generation of Hebrews who came out of Egypt, reminding them of the past forty years and exhorting them not to be like the generation before them. Because of rebellion, their parents had died in the wilderness. The land of Canaan stood before them to be given to them by the mighty hand of God. They would not need to build cities, plant crops, or gather herds together. God would provide all of that. The danger of blessings and prosperity is that when the heart of man becomes satisfied, he forgets the God who gave him all things.

Prosperity is a curse because it takes the heart away from the One who provides all things. The rain falls on the just and the unjust because the Creator determined the cycles of showers on the earth. Each morning, the Sun rises according to the will of God. Every human being has the breath of life through the power of the Lord who made man. Crops grow in abundance through the power of God. The bounty of the sea is harvested according to those things provided by God. There is nothing in the universe that does not come from the hand of God.

When a man fills his heart with pride, believing that by his power and his might, he has gained his prosperity, he is a fool. Job was a man who had incredible wealth that was taken away in one night. Jesus tells the parable of a man who had a fertile farm producing great crops. He was blessed beyond measure and decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store all his crops and other goods. His heart believed only he had made his riches possible. The mistake he made was believing he also had control over his life when he thought he had many years left to live. He died that night. He was a fool because he thought more of himself than his relationship with the One who provided everything to him.

The danger of a prosperous world is the belief that all things come by the hand of man. God is forgotten and ignored. It is true that while God has promised to feed the birds of the air, He did not promise to bring it to the nest. The first thing God did for man in the garden was to put him to work tending Eden. That job became harder after the fall of man. God wants His people to be thankful for what they have, share the blessings that are given to them, and always acknowledge that wealth (at whatever level) is a blessing from Him. To arrogantly believe that by man’s power and might blessings come is a fool’s errand.

Thanksgiving is a heart that knows from whence all blessings come. Showers come through the power of God to provide the earth with sustenance. The breath of life is a blessing from God. Children are a heritage from God. Happy marriages are built upon the knowledge that God builds the home. Everything about life should be measured by a thankful heart to the God who provides all things necessary for the good of man. The challenge of the human heart is to acknowledge where those blessings come. That is the litmus test that separates believers in God and those who deny the power of God – where do the blessings come from? Be thankful, but make sure the thanksgiving is in God, not the self. There is no such thing as a self-made man. What man has today can be taken away in an instant.