Deuteronomy 8 - Beware Self-Glorification

Deuteronomy 8 seems to be centered around the idea of thankfulness.  It's been quite the build-up as we get closer and closer to Israel's entrance into the Promised Land.  In Deuteronomy we find God's final words, His last attempt to prepare the Israelites for life in their land of reward.  In Chapter 8 God is essentially saying to His people, don't forget Me, don't forget why you're here, don't credit yourselves for this land that is now your home.  The last statement is what really spoke to me.  Deuteronomy 8:17 says, "Lest thou shouldst say in thy heart: My own might, and the strength of my own hand, have achieved all these things for me."  What a profound and relevant verse!  Pride is the great sin, and the one most difficult to self-diagnose.  It's such a common human weakness to take personal credit for the good things in our life.  Even before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God knew they would be overcome with pride once there and would forget God and praise only themselves for the good things in their lives.  And so it is today, as we, with society's approval, often give ourselves the most congratulatory praise for "our" achievements.  We disregard God and revel in our own prideful self-contentment.  Forgetting God could very well be one of the worst things we could do, for imagine giving a child everything and having that child not even acknowledge you for an instant and instead praising himself.  Instead, God loves humility.  Just as we would love that child to show us a humble gratitude.  The Israelites would go on to forget how to be humble and it took God Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ to remind all of humanity once again what humility is in the most awe-inspiring way possible.