Deuteronomy 8:13-17 (NKJV) and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end—then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.
We should be the same person before God and men, whether we are having a blessed time or facing a crisis. Both circumstances reveal who we are as a person, and both can lead us to abandon our faith if we lack a proper grounding in the Word. Some people will leave God when a crisis hits because they are angry with God, and others will leave and forget about God when they are materially blessed.
The heart of man is deceitful. We can all be very forgetful, especially when we are doing well. We can choose either to continue with God or to forget about Him in good times, but the tendency to forget about Him is very high due to our pride and self-centredness. Similarly, after we have drawn closer to God in a crisis, there is a sense of relief when it ends. Despite thanking God for the resolution, we can also quickly forget His faithfulness and goodness, becoming complacent, stopping our times of devotion, journaling, and prayer, and taking God for granted. That’s why only our ongoing faithfulness pleases God.
Pride can be subtle. It could be a blind spot in our lives, or we might openly express our pride through our speech, actions, mannerisms, and attitudes towards others. We might slip into believing that all the wealth we have accumulated is due to our business acumen, a good eye for investments, hard work, and networking. We will then prioritise other things over worshipping God and slowly think that we are gods—the creators of our wealth.
This is the most dangerous place to be. We must remember that it is He who grants us the capacity—our physical strength, mental ability, skills, favourable circumstances, resources such as fertile land, opportunities, and success in our endeavours in trade and business—necessary to produce and accumulate our wealth. But when we forget God, we risk turning to our own strength, losing sight of His promises, and missing the very blessings He desires to establish in our lives.
Because of the pride of the people of Israel, God had to allow them to wander in the wilderness for forty years, causing them to be dependent on Him for manna daily. What pleases God is our faith in Him. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God has shown us that He wants us to be utterly dependent on Him through faith in Him, as revealed through His Word.
Sermon Series: Stay Humble in His Presence
警惕使人远离神的心
申命记 8:13-17 你的牛羊加多，你的金银增添，并你所有的全都加增，你就心高气傲，忘记耶和华你的神（就是将你从埃及地为奴之家领出来的，引你经过那大而可怕的旷野，那里有火蛇、蝎子、干旱无水之地。他曾为你使水从坚硬的磐石中流出来，又在旷野将你列祖所不认识的吗哪赐给你吃，是要苦炼你、试验你，叫你终久享福），恐怕你心里说：‘这货财是我力量，我能力得来的。’
无论我们身处祝福的季节，或正经历危机，我们在神面前与在人面前都应当是同一个人。这两种境遇都能显露出我们真实的内在，也都可能成为我们离弃信仰的诱因，若我们的生命没有建立在神话语的根基上。有人在遭遇危机时因对神生气而离开祂，也有人在物质丰盛时因自满而渐渐忘记神。
人的心是诡诈的，我们往往在顺境中最容易忘记神。在一切顺利的时候，我们可以选择继续倚靠神，也可以选择忽略祂；但因骄傲与自我中心的本性，我们更容易选择后者。同样地，当危机过去、问题解决后，我们虽然会感谢神，但往往也会很快忘记祂的信实与恩典，渐渐懈怠，不再灵修、写属灵日记或祷告，甚至开始把神当作理所当然。因此，唯有持续的忠心与委身才能讨神喜悦。
骄傲往往是隐蔽的。它可能是我们生命中的盲点，也可能显现在我们的言语、行为、举止或对他人的态度中。有时，我们会不知不觉地认为，自己所拥有的一切财富都是靠着个人的商业头脑、投资眼光、勤奋工作与人脉关系所得。渐渐地，我们会把敬拜神的事放在次要的位置，甚至心中开始觉得自己就是“神”——是财富的创造者。
然而，这正是最危险的光景。我们必须记得，是神赐给我们得货财的力量——包括我们的体力、智慧、技能、机会、资源、土地的肥沃与事业上的成功。若我们忘记神，就会倚靠自己的能力行事，失去对祂应许的信心，也会错过祂原本要在我们生命中成就的祝福。
正因以色列民的骄傲，神让他们在旷野漂流四十年，使他们每天必须依靠祂所赐的吗哪。神所喜悦的，是我们对祂的信心。从旧约到新约，神一再向我们显明：祂渴望我们全然地依靠祂，透过信心与祂同行，并以祂的话语为我们生命的根基。
讲章系列：在神的同在里保持谦卑