A Warning

In Deuteronomy 6:10-12, Moses warns that Israelites that when they enter the land of promise they need to care for their souls. The land is rich and pleasant; it is full of all sorts of good things: vineyards and olive trees, houses that they did not build, cities that they did not build -- and all of these things will belong to them. Yet, there is great danger. The temptation is to enjoy oneself with all these good things and to forget the Lord. That is, it will be easy for them to become enamored with stuff and consumed by material things. And they can lulled into thinking that they acquired all these things on their own. Pride and self-sufficiency easily will creep in. They can easily forget that it was God who promised them the land, redeemed them from Egypt, and brought them into the land.

This warning is also for the church today. How easy it is for us to become complacent in our Christian walk. St. Augustine said that "earthly riches are full of poverty." Indeed, earthly blessing can breed complacency in one's Christian walk, and it can breed forgetfulness -- it can cause a Christian to move away from God and to cling to the things of the world. Luther was truly convinced of this truth when he said, "a full belly can be a great trial for a Christian"! So let us enjoy the blessings that God has bestowed on his church, but let us remember that anything that we have is due to his mercy and grace to us who are so undeserving.