Deuteronomy 8:11
“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today
Part I was about temptations. Part II will focus on worldly philosophies. They can be reduced to “me first”. This initiated with the devil. Isaiah 14:13,14 has his goal set. There are five of them. They all begin with “I will…”. This is at the exclusion of God. This is against one of the commandments: “have no gods before Me”.
From this point of “me first”, it can diverge into a million different paths. It can be very honest, like Frank Sinatra’s song, “I did it my way”. It can be more nuanced and disguised in a cause. In the end, it’s “me first” at the exclusion of God.
One can have this worldly mindset, yet have the appearance of being a christian. 2 Timothy 3;5 speaks of those that “have a form of godliness, but deny it’s power”. Judas looked like a disciple of Christ. He fooled all of his friends. When Jesus said that a betrayer was amongst them, none looked to Judas with suspicion. Some may have a worldly mindset and be very sincere and nice. That’s between them and God.
Do we have any “me first” thoughts and attitudes? Yes. Some may be obvious, while others aren’t recognizable. The Lord will focus on these when necessary. We will be presented with a “me first” or “God first” choice. It happens all the time. It can be as simple as being patient with someone and showing the love of Christ. Each of our submissions crown Him Lord in our lives at a greater level. We are choosing not to forget God.
Lord, help us to remember You.