DID GOD REALLY GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU HAVE?
Christians often say, “Everything I have comes from God.”
But does it?
That statement sounds spiritual. It sounds humble. It sounds like gratitude. But before we say it, perhaps we should ask a much more uncomfortable question:
Did God actually give it to us, or did we spend our lives pursuing it for ourselves and then attach God’s name to it afterward?
There is a difference.
Jesus did not call people to build whatever life they wanted and then thank God for helping them accomplish it.
He called them to surrender their lives to Him.
Jesus said:
«“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Luke 14:33»
That changes the entire conversation.
When the first disciples followed Jesus, they did not simply add Jesus to the lives they were already pursuing.
Peter and Andrew “left their nets and followed Him” (Matthew 4:20).
James and John “left the boat and their father, and followed Him” (Matthew 4:22).
Levi “left all, rose up, and followed Him” (Luke 5:28).
Their lives ceased to belong to themselves.
So when we say, “Everything I have came from God,” we need to ask whether we actually live in dependence upon God or whether we have constructed lives designed to make dependence upon God unnecessary.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray:
«“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Matthew 6:11»
Daily bread.
That is the language of dependence.
Jesus repeatedly taught His followers not to organize their existence around accumulating earthly security.
«“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.”
Matthew 6:19»
Then He said:
«“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33»
Notice the order.
Seek the Kingdom. God provides what is needed.
We often reverse it.
We seek the house.
We seek the career.
We seek the money.
We seek financial security.
We seek retirement.
We seek comfort.
We seek possessions.
We seek the lifestyle we want.
Then, after we obtain it, we stand in the middle of everything we have pursued and announce:
“Look at everything God has blessed me with.”
But perhaps we should ask:
Did God tell you to pursue it?
That is a very different question from asking whether God allowed you to have it.
Scripture certainly teaches that God is ultimately the source of life, ability, opportunity, and provision. Paul said that God “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). James said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17).
But those truths should not become a religious stamp that we place upon everything we decide to acquire.
The Bible contains people who accumulated possessions outside the will of God.
The rich fool had an abundance.
His ground produced plentifully.
He had so much that his existing barns could not contain it.
If our theology is simply, “I have a lot, therefore God blessed me,” this man should have been the perfect example of divine blessing.
Instead God said:
«“Fool! This night your soul will be required of you.”
Luke 12:20»
His abundance was not evidence that his life was pleasing to God.
Why?
Because his entire life revolved around himself.
“My crops.”
“My barns.”
“My goods.”
“My soul.”
He had built an existence for himself.
Then Jesus gave the warning:
«“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:21»
That phrase should terrify comfortable Christianity:
“Treasure for himself.”
Maybe the real question is not, “Who technically gave me the ability to obtain these things?”
The deeper question is:
Who was I living for when I obtained them?
Jesus said we must become like little children.
«“Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3»
A little child is dependent.
A little child does not congratulate himself for providing the roof over his head.
He depends upon another.
That is an uncomfortable picture for modern Christians because we have been taught that maturity means becoming increasingly independent.
But spiritually, Christianity moves us in the opposite direction.
We become increasingly conscious of our dependence upon God.
That does not mean Christians cannot work. Scripture explicitly commands work. Paul said, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
The issue is not whether you work.
The issue is why you work, whom you serve, and what your labor is ultimately building.
Paul worked with his own hands.
But Paul was not building Paul’s kingdom.
His work served Christ’s mission.
That is radically different from spending forty years constructing a comfortable personal empire and giving God a percentage of it.
Jesus never asked for a percentage of our lives.
He asked for the life.
«“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
Luke 9:23»
The Christian life is not:
My career.
My house.
My money.
My plans.
My retirement.
My dreams.
My possessions.
My lifestyle.
And then somewhere among all of that:
My God.
The Christian life begins with the death of “my.”
You belong to Christ.
Your time belongs to Christ.
Your abilities belong to Christ.
Your labor belongs to Christ.
Your money belongs to Christ.
Your home belongs to Christ.
Your future belongs to Christ.
Even your body belongs to Christ.
«“You are not your own.”
1 Corinthians 6:19»
That may be the truth modern Christianity desperately needs to recover.
Before saying, “Everything I have came from God,” ask something harder:
Have I actually surrendered everything to God?
Did I seek His Kingdom first and trust Him for what I needed?
Did I become dependent upon Him like a child?
Did I arrange my work, money, possessions, time, and future around the mission of Jesus Christ?
Or did I build the life I wanted, purchase what I wanted, pursue the security I wanted, establish the lifestyle I wanted, and then call the finished product “God’s blessings”?
Those are not necessarily the same thing.
Perhaps the question is not:
“Has God blessed my life?”
Perhaps the question is:
“Whose life have I been building?”