(Jer) 13:10-11, 16 CJB “Y’hudah and Isra’el were as numerous as sand grains on the seashore; they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.” (1 Ki) 4:20 “I will ruin this evil people, who refuse to hear my words and live according to their own stubborn inclinations, who go after other gods to serve and worship them. They will be like this loincloth, which is useless for anything. For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s body, I made the whole house of Isra’el and the whole house of Y’hudah cling to me,’ says Adonai, ‘so that they could be my people, building me a name and becoming for me a source of praise and honor. But they would not listen. Give glory to Adonai your God before the darkness falls, before your feet stumble on the mountains in the twilight, and, while you are seeking light, he turns it into deathlike shadows and makes it completely dark.”

Prosperity can make us forget God. Israel’s history provides a sobering warning. Under Solomon, God’s people experienced extraordinary peace and abundance. First Kings 4:20 says they were as numerous as the sand and “ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.” Yet generations later, Jeremiah describes a people who had stopped clinging to the God who had blessed them.

There’s nothing inherently sinful about prosperity.

God had blessed Israel.

The problem was what God’s people eventually did with His blessings.

They enjoyed His gifts while increasingly rejecting the Giver.

Prosperity Can Make Us Forget God

God tells Jeremiah why He had called Israel to Himself: “So that they could be my people, building me a name and becoming for me a source of praise and honor.”

God’s blessings had a purpose.

His glory.

Israel was supposed to cling to God, obey His Word, and display His greatness before the nations.

Instead, God says they “refuse to hear my words and live according to their own stubborn inclinations.”

They pursued other gods and eventually became useless for the purpose for which God had called them.

That’s the danger of prosperity.

We begin receiving God’s blessings as though they belong to us.

Comfort becomes expectation.

Abundance becomes indulgence.

Freedom becomes autonomy.

Eventually, we want God’s gifts without God’s authority.

America should hear that warning.

We have experienced extraordinary freedom, prosperity, security, and opportunity. Yet increasingly our culture celebrates behaviors God condemns and rejects the authority of the God who has blessed us.

But men, before pointing at the culture, we need to look at the Church.

Judgment Begins With God’s People

The Church has not been commissioned to make America comfortable for Christians.

Jesus commanded us to make disciples.

We are to proclaim the gospel, baptize believers, and teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded.

So before blaming politicians, schools, businesses, entertainment, or unbelievers for America’s spiritual condition, we should ask:

Have we done our job?

Have Christian fathers diligently taught God’s Word to their children?

Have we modeled obedience rather than merely demanding it?

Have our churches produced disciples who know God’s Word and live differently because of it?

Have we shared Jesus with our neighbors, coworkers, and friends?

Too often we have enjoyed prosperity while neglecting our commission.

Prosperity can make us forget God because comfortable Christians easily become passive Christians.

And passive Christianity does not make disciples.

Give Glory to God Before Darkness Comes

Jeremiah’s warning becomes urgent: “Give glory to Adonai your God before the darkness falls.”

There was still time to repent.

But there wouldn’t always be time.

That’s true for us individually as well.

God does not owe America continued prosperity. Nor has He promised that our nation will always remain powerful, free, or culturally friendly toward Christianity.

Our responsibility is faithfulness.

We should humble ourselves.

Repent of our own disobedience.

Pray for our nation.

Teach our children God’s ways.

Make disciples.

Live visibly under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

And use whatever prosperity God has entrusted to us—our money, businesses, homes, freedom, influence, and time—to make His name great rather than our own.

God’s gifts were never intended to make us independent of Him.

They should make us grateful, obedient, generous, and useful to Him.

Run Today’s Play

Ask, has God’s blessing made me more devoted to Him—or simply more comfortable?

Identify one blessing God has given you and intentionally use it today for His glory rather than your comfort.

Take responsibility for one person God has placed in your influence and intentionally help that person know and obey Jesus better.

Men, don’t wait for the darkness before becoming serious about God.

Cling to Him now. Obey Him now. Make disciples now. Give glory to God while you have the opportunity.