dear Curious,

Thank you for your honest question. To me, taking someone for granted often happens when we don’t remember what the person has done or is doing for us. We fail to appreciate and even take advantage of the other person’s goodness or kindness by acting carelessly.

Therefore, simply put, yes, we can take God for granted if we carry wrong attitudes toward Him, place other people or things above Him, and fail to give Him the honour and glory He deserves. In His grace, God gives us the privilege to enter into a relationship with Him. If we do not grab hold of this privilege, we end up missing the weight of His sacrifice and taking Him for granted.

In the Bible, God constantly instructed the Israelites to remember. The Israelites were told to tell of God’s wonders to their children (e.g. Deut 6; Joel 1:3, Ps 145:4), so that each generation would not forget what God had done. God keeps calling His people to remember, as He knows how forgetful humans are (e.g. Isa 17:10; Jer 2:32; Hos 8:14).

By choosing to keep recalling His goodness and love for us — such as through regular Bible-reading and prayer — we are actively fighting the tendency to take God for granted. God Almighty laid aside His majesty, humbled Himself to come to us as Jesus (Phil 2:6–8), and gave His life for us in order to redeem us to Himself (Mark 10:45; Gal 2:20). I personally would not want to take such a God for granted. Rather, my prayer is that I may surrender my life to Him, and empty myself of my privileges so that God may use me for His purposes. I pray that this would be your heart’s desire too.