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Deuteronomy 31:20

20For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant.


The problem with blessing and abundance is that it usually hardens our heart toward God. The Israelites were about to enter their Promised Land and find the abundance that God had promised them. God warned them that in that abundance they would turn to the gods of the people around them. Those gods were gods of fertility. Abundance does not mean satisfaction. The wealthy usually desire more wealth. Instead of being content with God's blessings, they would lust for more.

It is not that they would forget God. On the contrary, they would despise Him. Why? Because the wealth takes His place in their hearts and the worship of that wealth includes the despising of God who punishes those who turn from His goodness.

Once again we see that nothing has changed. Today's Christians often bow at the altar of prosperity and despise God by doing what they know they shouldn't do to gain more wealth. We dishonor the New Covenant when we allow wealth to be first in our hearts and our goal in life. It is not that wealth is wrong, for it is God that blessed them with prosperity. It is that our hearts turn to the gifts instead of the Giver of those gifts.

We can see people in our culture who despise God. It is not that they simply reject Christianity as true, but they hate the limitations it would place on them. They hate the fact that it describes specific acts as sin, including the worship of money. If it were simply another belief system that they think is a myth, there would be no reason for such passion in their denial of it. It is the conviction that truth brings that causes them to despise it so.

Consider: Beware of the times of abundance that your heart not turn from the Giver to the gifts. Those who express such ire against Christianity are often under conviction. Pray that they would yield to that conviction and turn.