Lawful Blessings
As I read Valley of Vision recently, a phrase from one of the prayers so impressed me I have to share it with you.
“Lawful blessings are the secret idols, and do (the) most hurt; the greatest injury is in the having, the greatest good in the taking away.”
What is a lawful blessing? It is anything God gives you for His glory. But because they are lawful we often fail to see them as what they can become, idols. Take sleep for example. We all need it, and when it is available, it is a sweet blessing. But when we habitually choose it over prayer or devotions, it can be a secret idol. Or when a child compromises our sleep and our response is less than gracious, what has become the object of our worship?
Another lawful blessing can be our appetites. If you have ever nursed a sick child, you know the relief when his appetite returns. But when his appetite causes him to covet or fight over the last scoop of ice cream, then this blessing has now become his secret idol. Free time, friends, health, money, pets, crafts; the list of lawful blessings is endless, because God’s blessings to us are endless. And while many of us will concur that we don’t want any blessing to become an idol, it takes a huge step of maturity to finish the prayer as this puritan did. “In love divest me of blessings that I may glorify Thee the more; remove the fuel of my sin and may I prize the gain of a little holiness as overbalancing all my losses.”
