Blessing v. Vanity

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Chris wrote:
When does a blessing become a vanity item?  

Steven Hall responds:
When the blessing causes us to be lifted up in pride, and truly pride is
a condition of the heart. 
God blessed the children of Israel with gold on their way out of Egypt,
what did they do but turn it into something to worship, a golden calf.
 
We surely must be wise against the world and all that it has, 1 John
2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
"Pride of life". is one third  (truly a trinity) of all the world has to
offer, we must be on guard against such.
Jesus taught us how to overcome temptation, while He was in the
wilderness. 
When the devil said,"command that these stones be made bread, this was
"lust of the flesh". Jesus taught us how to counter with the, *Word of
God,* Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth
of God.
We must speak, "it is written," what is written, always! (Again this is
why we must understand that we have the word of God in the KJV.)another
subject but none the less, most important.

Lust of the eye, is the second part, and that old "pride of life.".
Eve faced the same, in Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be
desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,
and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

"saw that the tree was good for food" is lust of the flesh.
"that it was pleasant to the eyes" is lust of the eye.
"a tree to be desired to make one wise" is pride of life, or what can
"I" be.
The wealth God gives us is for the spreading of the Gospel, not for our
foolish vanities.
Deu 8:18  But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that
giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant
which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
Your servant for Jesus sake,
Steven Hall