By Pastor Royston

“Being taken for granted is an unpleasant but sincere form of praise. Ironically, the more reliable you are, and the less you complain, the more likely you are to be taken for granted.”

Gretchen Rubin, American Author 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a selfish person is concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself. He or she concentrates on personal advantage, pleasure, or well-being, with little, or no regard for others. Alas, this quality is common among humans. We love putting ourselves first above everything else, even God. This kind of behaviour causes others to suffer, experience loss and often become alienated. The Apostle in James 3:16, states, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” Sadly, our lives are a fulfilment of this prophecy. God is and will always be better off without us. There is nothing good we can offer God that He does not already own. We need Him much more than He needs us – in fact God doesn’t need us at all, He wants us. Yet, we take him for granted and disregard his benevolence towards us. 

Many are making science their “new god”. British evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins claims, “The only watchmaker is the blind forces of physics.” Life, light and lightening are all credited to the theory of evolution. Any belief in God being creator of all things is scoffed at and often referred to as a great cop-out. Or described as an excuse to stop us from thinking and allowing empirical evidence to be evaluated rather than being reliant on faith.  

Presently, science is seen as the credible source and is used as evidence when telling the human story. Its advancements have enabled us to solve some of life’s vexing issues. Science deserves attention. However, if we are honest, we have seen science changing its mind on many serious issues and has often led us astray thus making its truths provisional rather than absolute. A lot of good has been achieved because of scientific investigations, but an over reliance can lead to perils and jeopardies. The wise man Solomon said, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” Proverbs 29:25. Ascribing “god-status” to science is unwise. 
 

1. For many years it was thought that the world was flat. Humans were convinced that if one travelled far enough, he would certainly fall off the earth. Explorer Christopher Colombus was among the first to be credited with the fact that the earth was round. Yet, centuries before God’s word said, ‘It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth’ (Isaiah. 40:22) 
2. Secondly, Dr. William Harvey (1578-1657) was the first scientist who discovered that the life of the flesh is in the blood. Despite that, thousands of years ago Moses wrote—`the life of the flesh is in the blood’ (Leviticus 17:11). 
3. Finally, Sir Isaac Newton, father of physics, established the law of gravitation in the seventeenth century. Still, thirty centuries before the advent of Newton, the writer of Job wrote—`He stretcheth out the north over the empty place and hangeth the earth upon nothing (Job 26:7) 

With the advancement of science and technology, God became unappreciated, unnoticed, and unrecognised. He is constantly being side-lined and taken for granted. Our selfish nature pushes us to self-praise. Accept this absolute truth. God is reliable. He knows even before we discover. The Apostle Paul reminds us, in Acts 17:28, ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 

Father God, today we step out in faith. We leave self behind and accept you wholeheartedly, in Jesus’ name, amen.