Tues Devo: Self-made....?

Genesis 22:7-14 “Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is thelamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”” (NASB)

Hello,

One day last week I was driving and this car passed me with a large window sticker in the back that read “Self Made” in a very elaborate font. I chuckled, then looked down at his license plate and it was personalized to simply read “SELF”. Caused me to think a lot. We like to pick on the younger generation for not having a great work ethic, or being willing to work as hard as those who came before. So, from one angle……someone took pride in their efforts to work hard and saw results. I like that they are potentially proud of their work ethic, and drive to see results toward a goal. But, this just doesn’t justify the mentality of “self-made”.

Should we work hard? Yes.

Should we strive for best results? Yes.

But we must not forget the source. God is THE source. He is the source of all of the following (and more - pardon the partial list J ): Opportunity, connections, strength, skill, ability, foresight, friendships, wealth. So yes, we must choose to take the opportunities in front of us – but who provided them? Yes, we must work hard – but who gives the strength when things are challenging and the friends to encourage us to keep pushing?  

Self-made? Nope….not at all, I am 100% God-Made. Now I must always remember this to keep from pride, and as a witness to those who watch my life.

Oh yes, one more thing….even if the material part is not there by measurements of others – that does not diminish the fact that I am God-made. You see, we must not merely measure the material – but more importantly measure the character. Love, kindness, peace, gentleness, self-control, purity – the strength and motivation for these are also from God – and the evaluation of who we are in the use of these character items far outweighs the material.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill