Deuteronomy 17

Watch out for pride

That his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel. ~ Deuteronomy 17:20

What happens when responsibility increases, influence grows, or people begin to look to you for direction? Do you notice a quiet shift in your heart toward independence, or do you feel a deeper need to trust the Lord for direction? Today’s scripture reading talks about leadership, justice, and authority, but at its core it reveals God’s desire for His people to stay humble, teachable, and anchored in His Word. As children of God in today’s world, we may not sit on a throne or judge disputes at the city gate, but we do carry influence in our home, workplace, church, and community. How we steward that influence matters deeply to our Father in heaven.

Before stepping into the practical ways this chapter speaks to daily life, it is important to understand that God was not focused on the power itself, but rather on the way His people carried it. Below are three truths to keep in mind as your influence grows each day:

1. Honor God as the highest authority

Deuteronomy 17 emphasizes that God alone determines truth and direction. When people elevated other influences above Him, disorder followed and His blessing was left behind.

Begin your decisions by seeking God’s wisdom before seeking opinions. When faced with a choice, pause to pray and ask what honors Him most. In everyday life, this could look like choosing integrity at work when compromise would be easier or allowing Scripture to shape your values rather than culture or pressure from others.

2. Stay teachable no matter your position

The king was instructed to write and read the law daily so his heart would remain humble. Authority without humility leads to pride, distance from God and eventually destruction.

Stay rooted in God’s Word even when life is busy or things are going well. Invite correction and accountability from trusted leaders or friends. In your current circumstances, this might mean receiving feedback without defensiveness, asking questions instead of assuming you already know, or staying consistent in Scripture when success tempts you to rely on yourself.

3. Walking in obedience produces long life

God promised that obedience would bring stability and lasting influence. His concern was not short-term success but a life that endured in faithfulness.

Choose daily obedience in small things. This may look quiet and unseen, but it builds a strong foundation. This could mean honoring commitments, remaining faithful in prayer when emotions fluctuate, or choosing honesty even when no one is watching.

I have had many opportunities to step into a place of pride in my own life and for years, I stayed in a place of the pride of low self-esteem.  Even though I didn’t appear to be prideful on the outside, my focus was all about what others thought of me.  I held back and allowed myself to be intimidated continually, and, in the end, this type of pride caused me to compromise because of a desire to be accepted by those around me.

Since I now know that type of pride is just as evil as being arrogant and bragging about accomplishments, I have to stay on guard, so I don’t swing to the opposite extreme.  It can be easy to slip into the mentality of “Look what I have done” or even “Look what others are doing that I don’t do.” The truth is that my calling is to love people and to use whatever influence I have been given to reach those around me and expand God’s kingdom. My confidence is no longer rooted in what I can manage, but in Who He is and what He has carried me through so I can help others do the same. This attitude has changed how I lead, how I listen, and how I respond when pressure comes.

Today I want to encourage you to guard your heart with humility and keep God’s Word close, especially as influence and responsibility increase. Choose obedience over independence and intimacy over image. As you walk closely with Him, your life will carry a steady strength that blesses others and honors God, just as He designed it to.

Today’s scripture reading: Deuteronomy 17

1 “You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.

2 “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing His covenant, 

3 who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, 

4 and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, 

5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. 

6 Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 

7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

8 “If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 

9 And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. 

10 You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you. 

11 According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. 

12 Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel. 

13 And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously.

14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 

15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 

16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 

17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 

19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 

20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

Journal:

• Where has God entrusted you with influence in this season
• Are there areas where you have relied more on your own understanding than on God’s direction
• What practical step can you take this week to stay grounded in His Word and humble before Him