Give credit where credit is due

Sometimes I forget to give credit where credit is due.
Deuteronomy 8:10-18

10When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.  11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.  12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions.  He brought you water out of hard rock.  16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.  17  You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce weath...


I know that sometimes I am proud.  I am proud of where I came from, proud of what I have accomplished, and proud of who I am.  God reminds me that HE GAVE me the ability to do EVERYTHING.   I grew up with all my basic needs being met.  Some would have called our family poor, but in comparison with most of the world, we had plenty.  Still, on occasion I have run into a childhood friend, classmate, or parent and have seen the surprise on their face when they learn I am a physician assistant, am married, and have a child.  Contrastingly, friends learn of my background and are very surprised, assuming that because of who I am today that I must have "come from money, grew up in church, etc". 

I didn't come from money.  I didn't have a stable home life.   I didn't grow up learning about Jesus.   I overcame all of those things.   Sometimes, I take the credit for everything.  I worked hard.   I applied myself.  I am smart.   I didn't want to continue certain family traditions.  I chose to go to church.  The truth is I couldn't have accomplished anything without God.  HE GAVE ME THE ABILITY, the encouragement, and the path to get to where I am and to allow me to do what I do both professoinally and in the home.  He also gives me the wealth that occurs beause of the abilities he has blessed me with.  Also, wealth isn't just measured in money, but in love and in the fruits of my labor.



Questions to ponder:
1)  Do you ever find yourself giving credit to yourself instead of to God?
2)  Do you feel you are using your abilities  as God intended?  If not, what are you going to do about it?