Well, there's never a shortage of questions about our delight in God in relationship to

the gifts that he gives us.

There's only two months into the life of this podcast.

We address the question, how do I know if I love the gifts more than the giver?

That was APJ 55 episode number 55.

We're back on the theme exactly eight years later with a related question from a listener

named Robert in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Hello, Pastor John.

Thank you so much for your faithful ministry.

I've heard you talk about the importance of loving God more than the gifts that God gives

us.

I believe the spirit of that statement is certainly true, but it doesn't explain everything

I see in the Bible, particularly how does this square with Psalm 103 verses one to five,

which seems to suggest that we love God more because of the benefits.

Pastor John, can we diminish God's glory by being too unconcerned with inventorying the

gifts he has given us?

I'll start with the conclusion and then try to back it up, conclusion.

It is not inconsistent, indeed, it is crucial that we both love God more than we love his

gifts, and that we love God more because of his gifts.

That's the conclusion, and I'm saying amen, amen, Robert.

I am agreeing with Robert's suggestion that God's gifts may not just compete with our

love for God, which they certainly can and do, but they also deepen and intensify our

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