Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God. – Deuteronomy 8:20

 Today's Scripture Reading (January 9, 2022): Deuteronomy 8

C. S. Lewis, in his classic book "Mere Christianity," argues that "a proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." Pride can be like that. It makes us believe that we are at the pinnacle of everything, and we sometimes forget that there is a God above us. Or, we begin to delude ourselves with the idea that the God who exists above views us with the same elevated opinion that we hold of ourselves.

It was a danger of which Moses was well aware. And so, he needed to make it clear that Israel was special only because of their obedience to God. If they became proud and began to look down on other people, and if, in that process, they forgot to look up, then they would be destroyed just as the other nations were that inhabited the land before them. To remain special, they had to be obedient.

Pride would be one of the greatest dangers that Israel would face. They would come to believe that they were special because they were special. They would look down on the people who inhabited the land around them, and they would forget to look up. As a result, Israel became disobedient, and the people would lose the land that God had given to them. Israel's struggle in the land was completely because of their pride.

And pride remains one of the most difficult issues with which the Christian church has to deal. We begin to look down on those around us, and we forget to look up. We think that we have all of the answers, that wisdom lies within us, rather than understanding that we are simply lost people who know the one who has all of the answers. Pastor David Guzik sums up the pride of the Christian Church well.

Pride is the greatest danger in the Christian life. It is the most Satanic of sins because it was by pride that Satan himself fell. Satan prizes a proud believer over the most notorious sinner, because he looks at the proud believer and says, "Now there's a man just like me" (David Guzik)!

When we react with humility, we reflect the character of the God who decided to become like us in order to save us. But when we respond with pride, considering others less than ourselves, we are following the playbook of Satan, the enemy of God, and become "just like him."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 9