"Otherwise, you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.'--Deuteronomy 8:17. Moses, continuing to remind the people how they got to where they are today. It was not by their own power but by the power of God. This reminder is to make sure pride does not become an issue. Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us that is God that gives us the power to make wealth.
Pride. I think we have all heard the old adage "Pride comes before the fall." This has to do with the fact that if we get cocky about what we have accomplished, what we have accomplished can taken away or destroyed from one moment to the next. Pride is a concept we should all be familiar with.
Pride. This passage in Deuteronomy is speaking about the fact that if Israel failed to remember where there wealth came from, pride would become a very serious issue.
Pride. It is no secret that wealth has been at the heart of a lot of the problems our nation has faced and is currently facing. As we look back just over the last hundred years alone, we have seen the Great Depression in 1929 and ever since then there has been issues with rising taxes and inflation. And just in the last eleven years of this century, we saw the economic effects the 9/11 attacks had on our country, Enron, the collapse in Detroit with the auto industry. What about the collapse of the housing market and at present the debt crisis our nation is facing? The list goes on but what is at the heart of all these problems? Wealth and the ensuing issue of pride.
Pride. Please don't get me wrong here, I am not suggesting that being "well off" is wrong because I have known of some wealthy Christians who are some of the most humble people there is. I am also not suggesting that it is wrong to be proud of our accomplishments. But there is a fine line between being proud and thinking we are invincible. For many people, pride is an issue not just with wealth but with any sort of accomplishments.
Pride is a heart issue. Often times we reach a point where we think that because of what we have accomplished thus far, we think we will never fall short. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus speaks about those who call Jesus Lord and make a claim of all they have accomplished in His name but Jesus will say to those people "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." Verses like this make me wonder if pride was the reason these people will be asked to depart from Jesus.
Pride. As Christians, we must be careful not to get caught up in our pride. It is difficult to bear the thought of standing before Jesus and one or several of us saying to Jesus on that day "Look how many people I taught the gospel to." or "Look how many souls were saved as a result of my efforts." or "Did I not preach so many sermons or lead so many Bible studies and devotionals in your name?" only for Jesus to say to us "Depart from me." The very thought gives me chills. Pride, if we our not careful it can be our downfall.
Pride. But one final point about pride. Pride is also at the heart of the reason that many will choose not to give their lives over to Christ in obedience to the gospel. I was speaking to one individual the other day and this person said that the idea of someone else being in control, namely God was something this person was not comfortable with. Pride is an issue. Pride, among other things, is an unwillingness to give up control. Hate to use Carrie Underwood here but pride can be an unwillingness to let "Jesus take the wheel."
Wherever you are at, my encouragement to you is this. First of all, don't let pride be an issue. Let God take control of your life. This process (and it is a process) begins by going back to the Bible and seeing what God expects us to do as we turn control over to Him by following the commands of commands of Christ found in the pages of the New Testament. Commands such as loving our neighbor and putting others before self. Pride can prevent us from doing God's will and furthermore pride can prevent us from entering into eternal life with Christ.
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