Credit

When I have thought of this word recently, I haven't thought of buying things one cannot afford. I haven't thought of debt, loans, interest rates, balances or minimum payments. There is one word that I have thought of though as it relates to credit...it's the word recognition.

Here's a question: Who gets the recognitions when you succeed? Is it you? Is it a spouse? Is it a boss? Is it God? I was reading something interesting just now about Abram and this idea of recognition.

Abram had just defeated a 4 kings (who we'll call the fantastic four) and their respective armies with nothing but 318 of his trained servants. By beating these kings he saved Sodom, Gomorrah and three other cities, we'll call them the feeble five. The feeble five had just lost a battle to the fantastic four and lost all of their possessions as well. Not only does Abram defeat the fantastic four but he gets the feeble five's people and possessions back.

After the victory, Melchizidek comes out to bless Abram and the bible says Abram gave Melchizidek a tithe of all. Then Genesis 14:21 says "Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.' 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'"

Now think about this for a minute. Abram deserved all their stuff. He risked death and great loss in order to get it all back. He deserved it. He had returned what they could not retain. But Abram knew better. I don't know how but he did. AND HE TITHED. The tithe hadn't even been instituted yet and he did it. Abram got it. And God responded. Everything Abram was doing was pointing back to God. God was getting the credit.

In the very next verse starting in Genesis 15, it says that "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'"

Abram did not want any one man or his kingdom to get the credit for blessing him. He knew that only God deserved that recognition. He turned down the possessions of 5 kings and their kingdoms. That's a lot of stuff. But listen to what God says..."I am your EXCEEDINGLY GREAT reward". I don't know how much stuff you have to have to qualify for exceedingly great, but I know this, that it has to be a whole lot more than 5 kingdoms worth.

So I ask again...Who gets the credit, the recognition, the glory for all that you have and all that you have attained and accomplished?