Blessings Abused

Blessings Abused. Psalm 128:1, Malachi 2:2

Psalm 128:1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.

Malachi 2:2 If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,” Says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart.

Have you ever lost something or given something away only to realize just how much you needed it?

I remember when I bought my first riding mower, it was a return at Walmart and I got for half the original price. At first, I treated it with love, then after a year or two I drove it like I stole it. This resulted in it breaking down.

After the second time I had to push mow my lawn in the August heat, I realized just how blessed I was to have that riding mower.

When I moved to Arizona, I gave away all of my heavy coats. After all, I was going to be in one of the hottest climates in America, what would I need a coat for. That was in October of 1997.

In February of 1998, my company sent me to Denver for training, it was 10 degrees below zero when I got off the plane. My first stop after I got my rental car was Walmart where I purchase a goose down coat. I have never been so cold in all my life.

I had given away something that I needed and paid the price for that decision.

1. Failure to recognize a blessing. 2 Kings 5

A lot of times, we don’t recognize a blessing until we lose it. I have heard people say, “I didn’t know how blessed I was.”

We often have blessings in our life that we fail to recognize, like having a home, a bed to sleep in, food on the table, and good friends. Sadly, these blessings aren’t appreciated until they are lost.

Gehazi was a servant of Elisha. His position was a blessing. But one day, greed took hold in his heart. Elisha had healed a man named Naaman of leprosy but refused to take a gift from him as payment for his healing.

After they left, Gehazi decided if Elisha wouldn’t take the gift, he certainly would. He later returned to Naaman’s house and explained that Elisha had changed his mind and would take the gift after all.

How stupid do you have to be to think you can get away with something when you work for a prophet of God. The end result was Gehazi was found out, and he and his family received Naaman’s leprosy.

Gehazi failed to see how blessed he was in his position. Sin entered his heart and he not only lost his position with Elisha, he lost his health and the health of his family.

Always remember, our sins not only harm us, they harm our loved ones as well.

2. Failure to appreciate and value our blessings. 1 Samuel 9

My daddy let my little brother Jason drive his truck when he first started driving. Jason had no respect for that truck, he took it off roading into places a 4x4 shouldn’t go.

He beat that truck to pieces. Why, because it cost him nothing personally, he didn’t have to work for it, and he wasn’t responsible for its repair or upkeep. As a result, he did not respect its value and treated it as such.

Saul was a common man who was thrust into the limelight when he was chosen to be the first King of Israel. His only attributes for the job was his good looks and height, a head taller than everyone else.

He was anointed King of Israel while out looking for a donkey. Here was a man who went from nothing to King in an instant. As a result, he had no appreciation for the value of the blessing.

He abused his power, abused his people, became an ego maniac, and ultimately tried to usurp God’s authority. 1 Samuel 13

As a result, his blessings were removed. His kingdom which would have stood forever, was taken away. His disobedience cost him all that he had, even the life of his son.

Failure to appreciate and value the blessings we have can often lead to our abuse of those blessings, resulting in the loss of the blessing, and more.

3. No perceived consequences for risking the blessing. Acts 5

We often indulge in disobedience believing there will be no consequences. No one who is suffering from heart disease or diabetes would have said when they were young that their life health choices would have a negative outcome.