Self Inflicted Wounds

"At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." 2 Kings 20:12-18

There are times in life when we suffer hardship through no fault of our own. Then there are times when we invite hardship by behaving foolishly. Often our foolish behavior is preceded by flattering words and/or a small gift given by someone we know we shouldn't trust. However we often long to be liked/loved by someone new, even if it means ignoring or belittling those who have dedicated themselves to loving us. This is what happened to King Hezekiah. The first eleven verses of chapter 20 of 2 Kings tells the story of God's mercy toward Hezekiah. It relays the story of how God saved Hezekiah from certain death. Unfortunately we do not see Hezekiah thank God or express his gratitude for the great thing that God had done for him. We do however see how grateful he is to the King of Babylon. We see Hezekiah sharing his most intimate treasures with those who are not committed to him and those who do not love him. Hezekiah took the affection of his first love (God) for granted. He had been so blessed by God that the miraculous became humdrum or routine. What's the big deal? God does this for me all the time, nothing special about it. How often have we as modern day Christians failed to give God His due? Perhaps the miracles in our life are not as dramatic as the ones God performed for King Hezekiah, but they are still worthy of our praise. Don't take God for granted. Not everyone has the privilege of being called His child. Cherish the relationship. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:36