Lest You Forget
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Deuteronomy 8:11-14
Take heed lest you forget the Lord your God, by not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes, which I command you this day: lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Don’t forget about God. I guess that’s really how these verses could be summarized. When life is going well, don’t start to believe your own press! When you have enough of everything you need, don’t begin to think it’s because you deserve it. When you’re full and have a nice home and your investments yield a hefty return, and it looks like you’ll be able to take that European vacation next year after all . . . Oh . . . by the way . . . thanks God!
Of course I’m being a bit flippant here. We aren’t generally that defiant and “persnickety.” But isn’t some truth to this? Don’t we tend to focus more on God when we need Him? When we’re sick, or have just lost our job, or a relative has passed away, or a million little things that bother, upset, perhaps even devastate us—that’s when we call out to God. Those are the times we intentionally and deliberately go to Him with our requests, “please, God change my situation.”
Of course its alright to be happy, and satisfied, and financially comfortable and have good self-esteem. That’s not what I’m referring to her. I’m talking about forgetting whose we are; forgetting we are God’s creations. He is the source of our ability, strength, knowledge, wisdom. He is the Alpha and Omega, not only for the world, but for us, too. When we begin taking credit for what we have or what we have accomplished and achieved, we make ourselves gods. And God has declared on more than one occasion that He doesn’t like that! He wants to be THE God in our lives.
These verses tell us one thing more: we must be constantly and continually be in a state of praise. We must be ever aware of God’s divine actions in our lives. If we don’t nurture our relationship with God, like any other relationship, when the going gets rough, the relationship falters. In order to endure through the rough patches in our lives, through the hardships, disappointments and losses, we must have built a strong foundation upon our faith.
Daily devotions, reading the bible, meeting with other Christians, quiet time in reflection are all ways we have at our disposal to seek out God and find Him. He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to enjoy our relationship with Him – not just wait until we need something before we call His name. If we have read about the times He has cared for His creations, we learn to trust that He will care for us. When we hear other talk about their faith and how they were sustained at a difficult time, we begin to feel confident that God will sustain us as well.
Finally, when we have eaten and are full, when our herds and our flocks multiply . . . we are supposed to give to others who are not as fortunate. I don’t know a thing about the religious beliefs of Warren Buffett or of the Gateses. But I think it’s a pretty safe bet they believe in the God of Deuteronomy. And I’m pretty sure they’ve heard and believe the teachings of Jesus Christ.
My prayer today is that you remember the source of every good thing in your life. And that you continue to seek out God, fine tuning and deepening your relationship with Him.
Mary
