“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God….” Deuteronomy 8:11
Pride
“Then your heart will become lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God…” (8:14).
Pride was the root of the first sin. It is the spirit that leads us to feel that we don’t need God. There wasn’t a lot of pride in the desert, but there was a great deal in Canaan. This is the besetting sin of gifted and successful people. Can you see any evidence of pride in your heart?
Presumption
“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth’” (8:17).
Notice Moses says, “you say in your heart…” He is talking about a pattern of thought. You wouldn’t say this to anybody else, but you feel that you deserve the credit for what you have achieved. And somehow, God is pushed to the margins. You feel the success was more because of you than him. God seems increasingly remote, distant.
Self-involvement
“My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” (8:17).
There was a time when these people felt that life was about knowing God and fulfilling his purpose, but now life is summed up in one word: “me.”
Do you see any of these symptoms in yourself?
