If God blesses us with wealth, power and influence, we should positively embrace them in order to glorify His name.
When Paul was baptised more than 30 years ago, his pastor pronounced this word of blessing on him: “You shall be the head, not the tail.”
Indeed, this blessing can be true for all Christians. Why not? If our walk with God is right, if we’re obedient and living out His will for our lives, we’ll get to experience what God promises—being the head and not the tail.
The blessings of obedience are found in Deuteronomy 28:1-14:
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Joseph was a Bible hero who epitomises the head, not the tail. Because of his faith, he moved from pit to prison to the pinnacle of power in Egypt. He finally rose to the position of governor of Egypt, second in rank to Pharaoh. During good times, he had the foresight to stockpile grain, a move that saved many lives when famine struck.
If God blesses us with wealth, power and influence, like Joseph, we should heartily embrace our calling. By rejecting false modesty and claiming our rightful inheritance, our lives can be a great blessing to many.
But lest we get away thinking that the Christian life is merely a bed of roses, we need to understand that …
- A worldview that ‘God is good all the time’ cannot possibly explain the whole gamut of experiences that believers have to face in life.
- There will be times when we won’t be able to figure out what on earth is happening to us.
- But be rest assured God is with us
- He has a definite purpose when He allows us to experience trials and tribulations
Now, let’s backtrack to verse 2 of Deuteronomy 28: “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
This means we should not run after blessings or set our eyes on blessings—as blessings are meant to follow us when we obey.
The above viewpoint concurs with what Jesus taught: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Finally, should the be the ultimate goal for believers?
To be rich should never the main focus for believers. Rather, God wants us to know Him intimately and find true riches in Him. His promise is not that all of us will live in bungalows and drive prestigious German marques once we believe in Him.
However, He promises to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19). His love and power enable us to live a victorious life so that we are ‘more than conquerors’ (Ephesians 3:20, Romans 8:37).
Whatever the circumstances—good or bad times—God has destined us to be the head, not the tail.
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Note: Dr Lim Poh Ann is a medical practitioner. He was the former editor of Asian Beacon magazine (Dec 2008 – Oct 2011). He can be reached at his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AskDrLi
SOURCE OF ARTICLE: http://limpohann.blogspot.my/2014/04/head-not-tail.html
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