Crushing Pride: Idolatry Awaits the Forgetful

“And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, ‘I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.’” Deuteronomy 8:19

Forgetting God always leads to a dependency upon self and a reliance on our own strength. Why? We need God more than we are willing to admit. Every morning I wake up, I tell my flesh, that I desperately need God. I’ve done this over the years so that my Type A and driven personality doesn’t convince me that I can live a day without the grace, love and power of God.

What does remembering God do? It puts us in a posture of humility and dependence upon Him for living. When we remember God, we recognize immediately that He is the Creator, the King, the Almighty, the Savior and the Sustainer of the universe, and so much more.

In the case of the children of Israel, God was trying to remind them not to “forget Him” when they got into the Promised Land. God literally said, “Don’t think it was your power and might that got you where you are today.” Men, we need to hear this everyday!

Forgetting God, not only can lead to pride, it also can lead to idolatry. What do I mean by idolatry (Exodus 20:3)? We all have a sinful bent within us to forget God and worship everything else but Him. You see, even though Adam and Eve were created to worship God, they chose to ignore or forget what God said to them in Genesis 2:16. Because they decided to give greater allegiance to their own appetites, desires and pride rather than what God said to them, they jacked up all humanity. And guess what? The result is that our lives have been radically changed forever.

That’s why we need Jesus and the love He showed towards us. Don’t forget Him and what He has done for us by dying on the cross for our sin.

I’m reminding you and myself today not to forget God. Remember Him so that you don’t worship and live in awe of your own desires, aspirations, pride, “successes”, achievements, self-sufficiency, image, careers, women, lusts, “self-deception”, etc… You fill in the blank with whatever you devote attention and worship other than God.

Men, our entire existence is because of God. Nothing deserves “the glory” and our devotion more than Him. Remember, we have been created to worship God, not just only Sundays but everyday of our lives. Humble yourself and remember daily to worship God or you WILL substitute God with something else that doesn’t deserve your awe, devotion and attention.

I know God is speaking to you because He is speaking to me. Remember God and worship Him. If we don’t remember Him, we run the risk of coming to ruin like those who already worship everything else but God.

This week, develop your strategy for remembering God and share your ideas with your brothers.