It is fun to start a party with a jar of candy, and have each partygoer write down a guess as to the number of candies in the jar. The reason? So that we can reward the closest guess with a prize, often the candy in the jar.
Yet who would pour out the candy prize simply to count it once it is ours? We would insult the host who gifted us with the treat.
God feels the same way. When he blesses us, he does not wish us to keep a list of our bank accounts or our possessions. He does not wish us to build up storehouses so that our collections of goods can grow and grow. Rather, he wishes us to revel in the candy, to consume what we wish, and to share the rest. What if the jar has 96 pieces of candy rather than 100? Will the ones we have taste any less sweet? Will we enjoy them any less? Will our gifts to others be any less welcomed?
Let’s see what happened when David counted the candy in his jar in 1017 B.C.
Israel had grown to a mighty nation. The candy jar was full. God wanted David to simply enjoy the increase he had given him, to rule with a wise hand over the people who made up David’s kingdom.
In 1 Chronicles 21:2, David decided he needed to know just how many candies he had in his jar, and he called Joab to take a census of all the people.
In return for David’s lack of appreciation for the bounty of candy God had given him, David and the nation of Israel were punished. God took back 70,000 pieces of his candy with a pestilence that fell upon the land.
It was a hard price to pay for insulting the host of the party.
We should enjoy the blessings God gives us, not tally them just to see how much we’ve received. After all, that is the very reason he blesses us in the first place.
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