GDP - GRACE DIRECT PRODUCT

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). 

Many perceive Paul the apostle as a highly successful minister of the Gospel. Indeed many see him as the foremost apostle in all the dimensions of the apostolic ministry. But here, Paul attributes all the positive things about his life that others were admiring to the grace of God and nothing to himself. It was the grace of God that made him an apostle of Christ and a preacher of the Gospel. It was grace that enabled him to labour and toil, and attain the successes that attended his ministrations. Paul was particularly careful to magnify the free favour of God, and the gifts of his grace in his life. 

It is a beautiful thing for a man to always know that the best part of his life is a product of God's grace. I came to understand long ago that if there is any good in me, any honour, any glory, it is the Lord - by the Lord and of the Lord. Man is by himself utterly incapable of any good. That has been the case since sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. It was the realization of this fact that made apostle Paul to cry out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24). 

Today, man at his best is still wretched. The advances in medicine, science and technology would not stop men from sinning. As knowledge increase, man's depravity expands, so that in his perverted wisdom, the abnormality of a man getting married to another man or to his dog has now become normal. The Bible concludes that all men have sinned, and all men have come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It is for this reason that boasting about any virtue is excluded. The most humble of men knows his moments of pride. The most patient knows his moments of impatience and anger, and the most meticulous among the descendants of Adam and Eve knows his moments of carelessness. 

So we must come to understand that the best of virtues on display in our lives are the products of God’s grace. It is sheer ignorance to boast about any quality you have. If you will be sincere, you will know that you have disappointed yourself many times. James says when men gladly boast about their virtues or achievements, all such rejoicing is evil and could attract the wrath of God because it indicates extreme folly and pride against God (James 4:16). It was for this reason that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon was punished, being sentenced to the animal kingdom for seven years to go learn humility before God. His confession after his release from the forest-prison should instruct us. Below are some excerpts: 

"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase" (Daniel 4:34, 37). 

OBEIDENCE NOT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here'" (Matthew 7:21-23, The Message). 

Here we see a picture of some people brandishing their achievements before the Lord. They were shocked to find that the Lord was not impressed at all. We learn a big lesson here, that in God your obedience is more important than your achievements. Whereas the world celebrates people for their achievements, God celebrates and honours His saints for their obedience to His commands. Achievement is good and necessary, but it should never be at the expense of obedience to God’s commands. When your obedience rating is poor before the Lord, of what use is a high approval rating among men? 

The world measures you by what you accomplish, nobody cares about your obedience to God. But you have got to care about your obedience to the Lord because that will determine how God blesses you, and, in the final analysis, where you end up in eternity. Nobody will be admitted into heaven because of his worldly achievements because heaven is not like our hall of fame. Heaven is a reserved destination only for those who have obeyed God. 

One can only imagine the kind of accolades king Saul must have received for his military prowess. He had gone to battle against the Amalekites and captured their king, Agag alive. That by all means was (and still is) an important military accomplishment because no king ever wants to endure the humiliation of being captured alive. And when you consider the fact that much spoils in livestock were also recovered from the battle, you can be sure that king Saul's approval ratings among the people must have soared. But while all the praise singing was going on, God was not pleased that Saul had disobeyed His command to destroy Amalek. 

And so we discover from this story that sometimes, what we have rated and recorded as great achievement for man may in fact be the height of disobedience to God. The military boys must have been busy celebrating the bravery of their king. Meanwhile, Samuel was busy weeping for him because the Lord was angry with him for the very reason for which the world was happy with him. What an irony, a type of irony that continues to play itself out in the affairs of men all through the ages. 

One of the greatest disasters that can befall us as Christians is to be praised by the world for the very same thing that God is bringing us to judgement. When this is happening and we are not sensitive enough to spot the danger, we are digging our own spiritual graves. Hear it again: your achievements don't resonate with God, they don't impress Him at all. What thrills Him is your obedience - serious obedience. 

OBEIDENCE NOT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here'" (Matthew 7:21-23, The Message). 

Here we see a picture of some people brandishing their achievements before the Lord. They were shocked to find that the Lord was not impressed at all. We learn a big lesson here, that in God your obedience is more important than your achievements. Whereas the world celebrates people for their achievements, God celebrates and honours His saints for their obedience to His commands. Achievement is good and necessary, but it should never be at the expense of obedience to God’s commands. When your obedience rating is poor before the Lord, of what use is a high approval rating among men? 

The world measures you by what you accomplish, nobody cares about your obedience to God. But you have got to care about your obedience to the Lord because that will determine how God blesses you, and, in the final analysis, where you end up in eternity. Nobody will be admitted into heaven because of his worldly achievements because heaven is not like our hall of fame. Heaven is a reserved destination only for those who have obeyed God. 

One can only imagine the kind of accolades king Saul must have received for his military prowess. He had gone to battle against the Amalekites and captured their king, Agag alive. That by all means was (and still is) an important military accomplishment because no king ever wants to endure the humiliation of being captured alive. And when you consider the fact that much spoils in livestock were also recovered from the battle, you can be sure that king Saul's approval ratings among the people must have soared. But while all the praise singing was going on, God was not pleased that Saul had disobeyed His command to destroy Amalek. 

And so we discover from this story that sometimes, what we have rated and recorded as great achievement for man may in fact be the height of disobedience to God. The military boys must have been busy celebrating the bravery of their king. Meanwhile, Samuel was busy weeping for him because the Lord was angry with him for the very reason for which the world was happy with him. What an irony, a type of irony that continues to play itself out in the affairs of men all through the ages. 

One of the greatest disasters that can befall us as Christians is to be praised by the world for the very same thing that God is bringing us to judgement. When this is happening and we are not sensitive enough to spot the danger, we are digging our own spiritual graves. Hear it again: your achievements don't resonate with God, they don't impress Him at all. What thrills Him is your obedience - serious obedience. 

OBEIDENCE NOT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here'" (Matthew 7:21-23, The Message). 

Here we see a picture of some people brandishing their achievements before the Lord. They were shocked to find that the Lord was not impressed at all. We learn a big lesson here, that in God your obedience is more important than your achievements. Whereas the world celebrates people for their achievements, God celebrates and honours His saints for their obedience to His commands. Achievement is good and necessary, but it should never be at the expense of obedience to God’s commands. When your obedience rating is poor before the Lord, of what use is a high approval rating among men? 

The world measures you by what you accomplish, nobody cares about your obedience to God. But you have got to care about your obedience to the Lord because that will determine how God blesses you, and, in the final analysis, where you end up in eternity. Nobody will be admitted into heaven because of his worldly achievements because heaven is not like our hall of fame. Heaven is a reserved destination only for those who have obeyed God. 

One can only imagine the kind of accolades king Saul must have received for his military prowess. He had gone to battle against the Amalekites and captured their king, Agag alive. That by all means was (and still is) an important military accomplishment because no king ever wants to endure the humiliation of being captured alive. And when you consider the fact that much spoils in livestock were also recovered from the battle, you can be sure that king Saul's approval ratings among the people must have soared. But while all the praise singing was going on, God was not pleased that Saul had disobeyed His command to destroy Amalek. 

And so we discover from this story that sometimes, what we have rated and recorded as great achievement for man may in fact be the height of disobedience to God. The military boys must have been busy celebrating the bravery of their king. Meanwhile, Samuel was busy weeping for him because the Lord was angry with him for the very reason for which the world was happy with him. What an irony, a type of irony that continues to play itself out in the affairs of men all through the ages. 

One of the greatest disasters that can befall us as Christians is to be praised by the world for the very same thing that God is bringing us to judgement. When this is happening and we are not sensitive enough to spot the danger, we are digging our own spiritual graves. Hear it again: your achievements don't resonate with God, they don't impress Him at all. What thrills Him is your obedience - serious obedience. 

THE WORKSHOP

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians 4:8). 

The mind is the workshop, the production centre of all that you undertake and achieve in life. Whatever you have, you first had it in your mind before you got it in your hand. And whatever you lacked or lost was first lost in your mind before it disappeared from your hand. Indeed the Bible is ever right when it says as a man thinks in his heart (mind), so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Surely, if you are able to take care of what is going on in your mind, your whole life is already well taken care of. 

The size of your mind is the size of your life. Never mind your physical stature, your educational or social background. If your mind is small, you have a small life ahead of you. Putting you in a big office won't change anything. You would rather reduce the bigness of the office to the smallness of your mind. Small minds can't understand big dreams. Consequently, small minds cannot nurture and achieve big dreams. If you want to succeed greatly in life, you must first learn to develop and expand your mind. 

Reading quality literatures written by informed people is a great tool with which to expand the mind. But I must warn you in plain language - don't spend your precious time reading only junks. They may be fun to read and bring you some excitement. But like their counterparts in the culinary industry, junks kill you slowly while giving you unhealthy excitement. They reduce your appetite for quality food that will give you proper nourishment. You will discover that junk literatures don't task your brain, neither do they give you sufficient stimulation to think and meditate. 

Talking about meditation, that is another key tool to expand and develop the mind. In the field of study called philosophy, it is referred to as contemplation. The art of contemplating is an age long method for the development of the reasoning faculty. The ancient Greek philosophers were well known for their contemplative capacity. They developed the art and turned it into a discipline - a field of study. 

Friends, success is just one good idea away from you. Spending time to contemplate will bring you closer and closer to that one idea that will produce the breakthrough you desire. You must learn to meditate on positive information. I will yet show you the most excellent way to productive meditation.

FOOLS MAKE A MOCK AT SIN

Silly people are not sorry when they *sin. They laugh about it. But everyone likes good people" (Proverbs 14:9, Easy English Version). 

"Fools make a mock at sin", as the Bible puts it in the Authorized Version. They laugh at iniquity, treat transgression against God as inconsequential, and make light of repenting before God for their misdeeds. 

In the modern church, the teachings on grace appears to have been taken to a ridiculous extreme where is is no longer a big deal. But my dear friends, I want you to know that whatever revelation or teaching makes you comfortable in or with sin is not of God. It does not matter how sound the teaching sounds or how much of goose pimples the revelation activates in your body, once it makes you think sin is inconsequential, know that God is distant from such doctrines as far as the east is from the west. 

And it would also not matter how well presented the teaching is or who the teacher or preacher is. Once a so-called man of God makes you feel that sin is no longer sinful, please run away from him as fast as your legs can carry you. Even if the whole world is following him, dare to be an exception and follow the God of righteousness. 

Fools, really silly people make are the ones who mock at sin. They commit fornication and adultery and claim they are having fun. They get drunk on liquor and are addicted to tobacco, yet they say that they are enjoying life. They steal and engage in robbery, and yet they say that they are only being smart. They use a moment of sinful pleasure to deny themselves of a blissful eternity, and they think themselves as wise and intelligent. Fools! 

What kind of fun break homes, destroys marriages and creates a sexually perverted society? What kind of enjoyment makes you lose your sanity, takes the control of your life away from you, and keeps you puffing on cigarette, on the pack of which is clearly written that this thing is dangerous to your health? What kind of smartness robs you of your integrity, dignity and honour, and makes you a candidate for the jailhouse? And what kind of wisdom and intelligence puts you on the expressway to hell? Fools indeed make a mock at sin. 

Friends, if you find yourself in the company of those who take pleasure in sin and in those who commit sin, develop wings and get out of their midst, fast. They may have all the money in the world, all the influence and the connections in high places. All that would not be sufficient to compensate for the eternal harm that will come to your soul. Whatever or whoever makes a mock at sin is foolish and has no connection whatsoever with the Lord our God.

CHRISTIAN BALANCE DIET

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:8). 

In our Bible verse for today, we see the Lord God of heaven and earth giving instructions to Joshua on how to succeed, and indeed have good success. The instructions given to Joshua is applicable to all men in all ages who are desirous of good success. God knew that a man would only succeed according to the size of his mind. A little mind will only be able to manage a little bit of success, but if your mind is expanded and developed, you will be able to manage great successes accordingly. 

Joshua had a big task ahead of him. After the death of Moses, it became his lot to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. This would involve fighting against great and powerful nations who were occupying Canaan at the time. That in addition to the task of keeping the rebellious and stiffnecked Hebrews under control was no doubt a very daunting job. Joshua probably felt so small stepping into the shoes of Moses, the man whom God spoke with face to face and mouth to mouth. God saw through Joshua's feeling of smallness and gave him a formula that would help. 

God told Joshua - meditate day and night to expand your mind, and then you would not only be successful, but you shall have "good success". I say the same to you - spend time in daily meditation to expand your mind. There are more possibilities in your mind than you have experienced in your life. If you will take the necessary steps to expand your mind, your life will never be restricted to any form of failure or undesirable limitations. 

God also told Joshua the most powerful thing to meditate upon - THE WORD OF GOD. Nothing expands the mind like the word of God. The reason why meditation in the Scriptures should produce the most powerful results should not be farfetched. It is the word of greatness, being the word of the greatest Being in all realms of existence. It is the word of success, being the letter to man from the One who has never (and can never) fail in any venture. And it is the word that destroys impossibilities, being the message of the Omnipotent with whom all things are possible. 

In the word of God, you are confronted with ordinary people who did extraordinary things because they gave their minds to extraordinary beliefs and thoughts inspired by the Spirit of God. How could a lad like David move against a giant like Goliath in battle? He had developed and expanded his mind through meditation in the word of God. David confirmed to us on many occasions that whatever unusual accomplishment he recorded, it was due to his constant practice of meditation in the word of God. He even had more understanding than his teachers just because he expanded his mind through meditation in the word of God. 

Friends, feed on the word, think on the word, and let it be your meditation all day long. Then, you shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth fruits in season. That is undeniable success for you. 

MOVE ON

And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter" (Ruth 2:2).

Life is a motion. Elementary geography teaches that the earth in which God almighty has positioned us is in constant motion, orbiting the sun. Life, I repeat, is a motion, and that is why we have an inborn desire to continually make progress. Today, I hear the Lord say, "Move on". And so, dear friends, I announce to you in the name of the Lord, it's time for you to move on. Move to the next level of grace, blessings and success.

But in your attempt to move on, a number of things will also try to tie you down. The first of such is a past failure. Naomi, the widow of Elimelech had returned to Bethlehem from a failed sojourn in the land of Moab. She was so devastated by her failure that she lost the zest for living. But Ruth, her daughter in law who came with her felt that they should not allow a failed past to deny them of a great future. She convinced Naomi it was time to go on. If you will attain your goals in life and become all that God has purposed you to be, you should never allow failure to hold you down. You must move on in the power of the Lord, away from past failures.

I need you to understand that failure is just a classroom to teach you a few lessons on how not to do a particular thing. Thomas Edison, we are told conducted experiments a thousand times before he succeeded in the invention of the electric bulb. Someone asked him what was going through his mind the 999 times he failed in his experimentations. His response was that there was not one point that he failed. He had only learnt 999 ways in which electric bulbs could not be made. That is quite profound.

I want you to know that every living must attend the classroom of failure at several points in the journey of life. There is no one on earth who has not failed in one thing or another. But like every other classroom, nobody should live in the classroom of failure. Thomas Edison refused to make that classroom his permanent abode. He kept moving on. Ruth refused to stay in the classroom of failure. She moved on and grace found her. Please don't settle down to live in the classroom of failure. Learn your lessons and get out - as fast as you can. Move on. Grace is awaiting you out there.

My dearly beloved, failure is never final. It is no more than a comma, a temporary pause in the sentence of your destiny. Don't ever put a period where God has allowed a pause. Don't allow anyone to write you off. And if they have already written you off, pick up the pen of your life and rewrite your future. That pen, my friend, is in your hand and not under the control of another. With the God of all grace on your side, you are unstoppable. 

SPIRITUAL STRENGTH OF FAITH

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens" (Hebrews 11:32-34).

It is very important for the Christian to understand that progress and success in this world is only guaranteed through the power of God. Yes, you could stumble on success through some other means but enduring victory in the battle of life comes only when God is involved in the affairs of men. The fulfilled life, like the blessing of God that makes rich without adding sorrow, is only available in God. The primary instrument by which we may access the power and blessings of God for a fulfilled life is faith.

The most important thing that galvanized Caleb into action and caused him to move on into his inheritance was his faith. At eight-five, the physical strength of Caleb must have naturally diminished. But that could not stop him because he was full of the spiritual strength of faith. He was strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Like Abraham, Caleb was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And he was not disappointed.

My friend, look not on your physical ability because it is not by power. Neither put your trust in your skills, education or financial resources because it is also not by might. In fact, all these factors can fail to deliver, but God to whom your faith is tied cannot fail. By faith in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you can go far beyond where your natural abilities could ever take you. If you read the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews, you will see a summary of biblical heroes of faith who by faith accomplished far beyond what their natural abilities could produce.

But unbelief can stop the most powerful and the most endowed person. Unbelief kills passion, destroys motivation, and in fact could imprison abilities and resources. There are so many people who know what they want and what God has prepared for them, but unbelief won't allow them to move forward into their glorious destiny. They might even have been naturally well endowed by God for the great things God ordained for them. But when unbelief puts up the stop sign before them, they simply obey. Today, I challenge you to throw away unbelief and dare to be all that God has purposed you to be.

I say to you again, it is time to move on. It's time to make progress. It's time for you to move on to the next level. As you believe God and have faith in His Word, the progress designed for you shall not elude you. The power of God shall propel you into positive action, and your faith in God's power shall not go unrewarded. Believe me, with the faith of God in your heart, you are unstoppable. 

HAUNTED OR HUNTED

And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him" (2 Samuel 5:10).

In the journey of life towards the fulfilment of destiny, the enemy uses so many things to attempt to tie us down from experiencing the beautiful life that God has ordained for us. Like we saw in the last message, a past failure could haunt today's initiative for progress. Sometimes it's not just a failure in your past that will attempt to tie you down. It could be an unpleasant past, an ugly experience with a neighbour, friend or partner. But you simply cannot allow an unpleasant past to stop you from moving on into a promising future. That someone failed you in the past does not mean that the future will fail you.

David had experienced betrayals from his brothers. He was let down by the king he served at the risk of his own life. He felt betrayed by people like Nabal whom he had cared for, and by whole communities like the town of Keilah which was willing to turn him over to his enemy, though he had defended from their own enemies. David's experience was not much different from that of Joseph before him. But these people learned to move forward, working with people in spite of previous disappointing experiences with trusted relationships. They seemed to have realised that angels won't come down to work with us, and those who are not ready to work with others may need to get out of this world to do any work.

Not all men are bad, you know. Bad neighbours, friends, bosses and partners in your past does not mean bad neighbours, friends, bosses and partners in your future. You must be willing to believe that your future is lined up with wonderful people who would be part of a wonderful destiny. You see, no one makes it in life all by himself. Even the most endowed and the very best of us need the inputs of others to succeed and be fulfilled. The battles of life were never programmed to be fought and won by a single individual. It is not an individual sport like boxing. And even if the battle of your life were to be like boxing, you would still need a team of coaches, trainers, doctors, psychologists and managers to make progress.

Therefore, you must be willing to trust people again. You must be courageous to believe in the positive abilities and dispositions of others. For those who feel like the whole of humanity has offended and disappointed them, you must forgive humanity so that you can embrace and draw from the treasures the almighty God has invested in the rest of humanity. Finally, remember that you are, of course, changing too. You too are moving on into the future with a better and more positive attitude. That can only draw better and more positive people into your future. Please receive them and allow them do their work.
Again I say, you are unstoppable

THE X-FACTOR

"So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" (Romans 9:16). 

"So then, it is not by the desire or by the attempt of man, but by the mercy of God" (Romans 9:16, Bible in Basic English). 

I have heard it said many times that life is not fair. While some are beneficiaries of the unfairness of life in the positive sense, others get the really unfair side of the incongruences of life. The issue is not so much about the fairness or otherwise of life. It is more about the factor of God's mercy in our lives. You see a lot of people who have put in far more than you did without getting as much results as God has graciously granted to you. If you think it was your prayers that brought you thus far, think about those who pray more than you but are yet to come as far as you have in life. 

And when you find yourself thinking that it was your strong faith that brought you that huge breakthrough in life or ministry, remind yourself of the heroes of faith whose strong faith brought them torture, "trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment". And there were others who "were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented...". And yet, the Scriptures say, "these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise" (see Hebrews 11:35-39). 

I love David. One day, after looking at all that God had done for him and considering the Lord's promises for years to come, "Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?" (2 Samuel 7:18). Yes, David was a valiant man, an extraordinary worshipper of God and a man of intense faith in the Lord God of Israel. But he was also smart enough to know that he did not get to where he was on account of his personal merit. Like apostle Paul, he could only say, "by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). 

So where does all the above lead us? Pass your time here on earth with humbleness of heart before the Lord God. Keep in mind at all times that you are a product of His unmerited favour and that your achievements and attainments in life are ultimately no more than the result of His mercy which is largely undeserved. I like the man called Jacob. After he had become rich and successful, he confessed to God, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands" (Genesis 32:10). I repeat, "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy". 

Secondly, pass your time of sojourn here on earth with a lot of humbleness of heart towards your fellow men. Don't let selfishness, pride and haughtiness define your relationship with other people. Be considerate, forebearing and merciful in your dealings with other men. Others may not be as fortunate and blessed as you are, but they are nonetheless mostly deserving of the kindness of God through you. God's goodness should make us humble and sober; His blessings are never designed to make us haughty and brash.