Sep
17
Don’t Believe It
Filed Under Devotional
Success can be intoxicating. I believe I am witnessing such a thing in the current political battle. When a candidate begins to succeed beyond what the pundits originally thought, the candidate can being to believe his own propaganda. Pretty soon he’s not just thanking the crowd humbly for the support, he’s declaring that he has solutions to intractable problems. He claims he can fix overnight what has been a gaping wound for decades. He believes that his very success is a healing salve for the electorate.
Careful, there, guys. I like what Moses told the Israelites when he explained how God was going to clear a path for them by helping them to succeed in the battles ahead. He warned them about falling into this same trap:
“After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take poessession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to yoru fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 9:4-5
In other words, God will make things happen for His own purposes. Don’t ever believe you have earned it or that you deserve it.
In short, don’t start believing your own press.