IS IT ME OR IS IT GOD?

Acts:12:19b-23

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply. On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

History tells us that Herod was at the very peak of his career; his power was the greatest it had ever been. Not only had Rome granted him rule over a territory larger than his grandfather Herod the Great, but he was also able to make self-ruling Palestinian cities such as Tyre and Sidon bow to his will. We're not quite sure why Herod was "quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon," what we do know is they now wanted peace because they needed food -- they depended on him for their food supply.

We know what happens next as Herod is struck down by an angel of the Lord. I find it interesting that it wasn't the people who called him a god who were struck down, but rather Herod who accepted their honor and did not forward the praise to God. Jesus says in Luke 12:48, "...the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Clearly the ones who did not know were the people who called him a god; and conversely Herod was the one (singular not plural) who had been entrusted with much and therefore much more was demanded. Herod fell short and paid for it with his life.

I know many of you who look at this story see no relevance to your present life. Too often we look at what we don't have or what we want and fail to see how much we have been given. Few people who live in our area have ever known what it is like to go hungry. Yet how much glory do we give to God for placing us here, where we enjoy so much abundance in comparison to the rest of the world? If we don't regularly remind ourselves, we can forget and begin to think somehow it has been "me" rather than God who has created this abundance and blessed us with it.

I thank God that He does not strike me down (as He did Herod), every time I accept personally the honor or glory that is justly due Him. How many times in a day do you accept praise without glorifying God? What impression is left with others when we give the glory to God versus accepting it ourselves? How can you change your perspective? Look for an opportunity today to sincerely and honestly give God the glory for your life, your work, and your circumstances.

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