"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that . . . all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

Our text shows that godly living results in God's blessings. God exhorts His people to righteousness. "Blessed shalt thou be in the field. . . . the fruit of thy body . . . the fruit of thy cattle . . . of thy kine . . . of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store" (vv.3-5). Then in verse eight, "The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." But, in the verse fifteen, God warns that they will be "cursed" in the areas where He promised to bless, if they pervert to moral and spiritual decay. (See Nehemiah 9:35-37; Joel 1:3-20; Daniel 9:1-15).

Economy and morality are important when it comes to God's dealing with the nations (Psalm 9:17; Proverb 14:34). The Bible for instance, illustrates that an economy, at the expense of godliness, is doomed. "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. . . . and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies" (Revelation 18:2-3). The result of this sin will ultimately be God's condemnation.

This also should be a factor when we consider who we're voting for as representatives in our government. Remember Christ's exhortation in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." TJM