Good day,<\/p>\n
A friend of mine bought a new car, so he said God blessed him with the car. This made me think. I know God gave us in a general sense because we live in God’s framework. He set the boundaries, but in a specific sense, God did not give him the car.<\/p>\n
What do you think about this?<\/p>\n\t
God “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust<\/em>” (Matthew 5:45). All good blessings come from God. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning<\/em>” (James 1:17). Yet, many of those blessings are given to all of mankind equally.<\/p>\n Your friend was given abilities and opportunities to earn money, so in that sense, God blessed him with the ability to purchase a new car. However, we should not conclude that material blessings indicate righteousness. Asaph saw that wicked people sometimes had very good lives. “For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men<\/em>” (Psalm 73:3-5). Eventually, however, he realized that their apparent success was only temporary. “If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me- until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors<\/em>” (Psalms 73:15-18).<\/p>\n There is nothing wrong with appreciating the blessings that come our way and expressing thankfulness to God for His generosity. At the same time, we must not make the mistake of thinking that material blessings mean we are favored by God because we deserve what we are given. “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’<\/em>” (Luke 17:10).<\/p>\n\t Good day,<\/p>\n I got it. God gives us abilities and opportunities. However, similar to our salvation, if we do not respond to or act on opportunities, we will not receive blessings from God. Surely, God doesn’t just unconditionally pick someone and give him a car. Many people want blessings, but we also need to teach them how to catch fish, not just give them fish.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Good day, A friend of mine bought a new car, so he said God blessed him with the car. This made me think. I know God gave us in a general sense because we live in God’s framework. He set the boundaries, but in a specific sense, God did not give him the car.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1095],"class_list":["post-68932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-blessings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32834,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-only-christians-be-blessed\/","url_meta":{"origin":68932,"position":0},"title":"Should only Christians be blessed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When you ask God to bless someone, do they have to be a Christian? I doubt it, but I still want to ask. When someone says may God bless you, does He actually do it? Also, what do you think of Mother Teresa since she was a Catholic? Do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/employing-our-opportunities\/","url_meta":{"origin":68932,"position":1},"title":"Employing Our Opportunities","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Greg Kline via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 2, February 2015 \"Eat your food. There are kids around the world who are starving.\" This may be one of the most clich\u00e9d lines a parent can give a child who is resisting their vegetables. Frankly, it is an attempt to shame\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45080,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-be-happy\/","url_meta":{"origin":68932,"position":2},"title":"How to be Happy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 4:1-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Are you happy? Truly happy? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For many people the answer is \u201cI would be happy, if ...\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If something changed, then I could be happy. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the change is something simple. \u201cOnce I lose another ten pounds, I\u2019ll be happy.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a03.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But too\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23570,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-gods-blessing-physical-or-spiritual\/","url_meta":{"origin":68932,"position":3},"title":"Are God’s blessing physical or spiritual?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've heard so many times from my friends saying I'm so blessed that I have gotten good grades and a good job. What about those who believe in God but are not getting any jobs or are poor in studies. What is the actual meaning of blessings from God?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-know-if-god-answered-my-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":68932,"position":4},"title":"How do I know if God answered my prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question for you: I was reading an article regarding prayer and it stated how we should look for our answers to our prayers. What I don't get or understand is how do we know when it has been answered? Of course, if it's in the affirmative,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52288,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-ask-god-to-give-my-daughter-all-my-blessings\/","url_meta":{"origin":68932,"position":5},"title":"Should I ask God to give my daughter all my blessings?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning. I'm struggling with the thought of how to pray for a blessing. My daughter is in university, and she has for many years had a struggle with confidence. She is really smart but doesn't believe in herself. In some of the classes, she is barely passing, though\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Response:<\/h2>\n