One of my favorite things to do on a warm summer evening is sit outside on my patio, smoke a cigar, and have a beer or glass of wine and reflect on the world around me as the sun sets and darkness reveals the stars. I have a great sense of awe when looking at the view and up at the stars and the vastness of the universe and the world around me. The beauty of the outdoors and our universe has always captivated me. Just soaking it all in gives me a great sense of perspective.
I think though that on a daily basis we take the greatness of the world around us for granted. I lived in Colorado for 16 years and moved about a year ago to the desert of Southeastern Washington. For 16 years I got to wake up and see the beautiful Rocky Mountains and the 53 peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation, known as 14ers. When I first moved there I was taken in by their beauty. As time passed I got used to seeing them there every time I went outside or looked out a west facing window. It got to be where I didn't even think about it on a daily basis because it's always there, in other words I took it for granted.
I'm experiencing the same thing after moving to Southeastern Washington near the Columbia River. The Columbia River is a powerful river starting in Canada and running through Washington and ending at the Pacific Ocean. Much of the power and size is due to the many dams along the river which provide roughly 80% of the electricity to the region. It gives you pause to contemplate the raw power and beauty of the water. I expect over time I'll lose my awe and will just take the magnificence for granted to some degree.
I think the world around us and the universe is one of those things we just take for granted. The universe is massive. I don't even think massive is a grand enough word to describe just how big the universe is. There are billions upon billions upon billions of stars. When looking up in the sky each star is an average of 3 trillion miles apart. We see it every day and it's easy to just take it for granted because it's there day after day. We do the same thing with God. We take Him for granted because He's always been here and will be day after day.
I think a lot of times we want to attribute our success to ourselves and blame God for our failures, pain, and suffering. We ignore the greatness of our world and who is responsible for that greatness. I'm no exception to that. I have to remind myself all the time that my house, my job, my family, my success is not because of me. I owe everything I have as a gift from God. Not I'm better than other people. Not because I'm an American. Not because I'm a Christian. Not because I pray. Not because I've earned it because I haven't. No, God has given it to me because of His grace. God's opened doors for me and He's closed doors for me. It's all to prepare me for things here and things eternally. I didn't build that.
In July President Obama uttered the now infamous quote, "If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Of course it started a fire storm of political propaganda on both sides. Democrats saying that the 'someone else' is the federal government. Republicans saying that it is 'no one else' responsible for a business' success other than the business owner.
Both parties have it wrong. Success is a gift from God not from the government or from ourselves but as a result of God's grace. Don't forget this truth, you didn't build that by yourself. It's not about ourselves and it's not about deifying a government (which again is ourselves). Be humble in your success and know that it's a gift from God and give thanks. As much as we want to think we are great and can accomplish great things on our own, we can do nothing without God's grace.
So the next time you look up in the night sky, gaze at the water, or even see great human success, just remember: You didn't build that. But give thanks to the one who made it happen.
