Edifier du Jour-Joshua 24:13-15 (NASB)

13: 'I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.'

14: "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

15: "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

That last part of verse 15 is almost too trite. If you hang out in evangelical circles, you'll sell a plaque or other wall-hanging with "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" near the front door on about a third or so of them. How do we actually begin to live out that verse rather than make it a mere platitude?

Rewinding the tape to the earlier part of the chapter would help. Joshua retells how God got them out of Egypt and gave them the Promised Land. However, for this modern reader, verses 13 and 14 hit home. I may have a few readers in impoverished areas of the world, but the core of the Peanut Gallery is going to be rather comfortable Anglospherians. The wealth and order that we are blessed with was there when we were born. While we may have worked to extend that blessing, most of it was there from the beginning of our lives.

I'm thinking of the chorus of America the Beautiful-God shed his grace on us and gave us enough brotherhood to create a functioning democracy and thriving economy. Yes, the democracy still needs a little work and the economy is far from perfect, but it beats the heck (IMHO) out of the alternatives around the world. My Canadian, Australian and British readers could say much the same things about their home turfs, even if they might not relate to that song in particular. Even more chaotic places like the Philippines have their blessings.

We need to remember to give God his props for what he has provided us and do so year-round as opposed to on the fourth Thursday of November. When we note the source of our blessings, we'll become better servants of God.