Means to an End

In Hebrew history, God worked through the taking of the Promised Land to keep His people

dedicated to Him and reliant on His power. Sadly, once they made it through their battles they became preoccupied with possessing the land and forgot to keep their focus firmly on Him. Ironic isn't it that God's people took the very thing that was supposed to center them on Him and used it as an idol?

I suppose that's not drastically different from parents that are so consumed with raising good children who experience every benefit and yet never know what it means to genuinely follow Christ with their desires and ambitions. It accurately reflects a couple so concerned with affirming their spouse that they neglect to incorporate God into their marriage as the leader and provider of all that is good. Sadly, it can also represent churches that desire bigger campuses, larger attendance, and overflowing offering while forsaking the One for whom the church exists to begin with. 

It's discouraging to see how we can take a blessing from God and start to worship it more than we do the One who gave it to us.