Don't Count on It

This blog post is about to fly in the face of many Bible - toting,  God - fearing, peace - loving folks.  So I will apologize up front and ask you to extend grace and mercy...and then hear me out, because I really believe this is something that God is leading me to share.

 

By now, I'm sure you're wondering what on earth I can say that would be offensive.   Well, here goes:

Did you grow up singing the beloved hymn, "Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your blessings,  see what God has done...."  are you singing it in your head?  I am. 

 

I would bet most of us know the hymn.  And we've used the line "Count your blessings" as if it came straight from the word of God.  Hang on to your hats though...that's not scriptural advice.  Not in the way many people are using it these days. Not when we count them for the wrong reason. 

 

Breathe.  It's ok.  I'll explain.

 

We are instructed, all throughout scripture to be thankful and remember the wonders of the Lord, to have a grateful heart, to share with those in need...but I can't find anywhere in the scripture that we are told to count our blessings.  As a matter of fact, in 1 Chronicles 21, we read a story of a time when Satan 'rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census.' (v.1)

 

Taking a census wasn't a sin.  The people were counted pretty regularly.  Just like we had to do when we had seven children at the zoo.  We would dress them all in bright orange shirts so that I could count them quickly and know if someone was missing.  And my children are blessings.  So I counted my blessings.  That wasn't sin. 

 

When he took a census, David sinned because he was counting out of pride.  Maybe he even thought, "Wow, look at how many fighting men God has blessed me with!"  But if he was trusting God and knew that God was adding to his numbers, why bother counting them?  He did it (v. 2) 'so that I may know how many there are.'  Uh oh.  Pride will get you every time.

 

Joab tried to reason with him.  Dude, they're all yours.  Why do you need to count them??  But Joab did as he was told except he didn't count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, "because the king's command was repulsive to him."  (v. 6)

 

Are we repulsive to others when we are 'counting our blessings' and reporting that God has given us a 5,000 square foot home?  We must be pretty special if God blessed us with four cars and a golf cart.  Look what God has done for us!  He gave my husband a $40k a year pay raise.  I find that kind of 'counting' a bit repulsive.  Don't you?  If it's said in pride, then it's sin. 

 

David knew he had sinned and God's punishment was swift and painful.  Have you ever offered your kids a choice in their punishment?  "You can be grounded for a week, or lose your cell phone for two days."  That's what God did to David.  He offered him a choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away by his enemies with their swords, or three days of the sword of the Lord (a plague in the land). 

 

Whoa Nelly!  That's some harsh punishment.  Geesh, God...all I did was count the men...the blessings.  And if you want to see what he chose, go read it for yourself, because that's not the point today - but it's a really great story.  Better than any Bruce Willis flick.

 

Did David count the men because he was looking for some sort of validation?  "Yep, I sure am blessed.  Just look at all these men who have joined my army!"  Was he somehow basing his self-worth on the number of soldiers?  Was he trying to measure God's love for him?

 

This is where this hit home with me.  And please, don't think God has ever spoken through me without speaking to me.  Why do I look at my phone every half an hour?  It's not because it's ringing...Often I will look just to see if there are any Facebook 'notifications'.  Don't act like you don't do it, too.  (I'm going to say 'we' now so that I don't feel so alone here.)  We love it when there are lots of notifications that others have 'liked' our status or a picture that we posted.  We love to see how many friends we have accumulated.  Hmmm.  Are we gaining some false sense of self-worth through this?  I'd say we are.  Some to a larger degree than others, but especially our kids. 

 

Have you ever heard a teenager say, "Oh, she only has two hundred friends on Facebook."  Whaaaaaat??  What are we teaching our children?  To count their 'blessings' and determine who is a better person based on the numbers that the census returns?  God, help us!

 

When I think of 'counting my blessings,' I am reminded of the bumper sticker that reads, "He who dies with the most toys, still dies."  If people are counting their 'toys' as blessings, and they are worried about who has the most...well, that's a sad state of mind to be in.

 

Please, God, don't let us get hung up on the numbers!  Oh Lord, don't ever let us base our sense of self-worth on the number of 'hits' on a blog post. Or how much our sales were last month.  Or how many people showed up for our party.  Or whatever blessing we may be counting.  Our self-worth must be found in Christ alone.

 

It seems like when something bad has happened, we want to somehow console each other with that phrase, "Well, you better count your blessings," but I am going to start saying, "You can count on God for your blessings."  The fact that He loved us and gave His one and only son to die for our sins, is all the blessings we really need.  And it's the same for all of us.  God doesn't love Billy Graham or Bill Gates more than he loves you, or me.  He loves us all the same.  You can count on it.

 

Be blessed.