The First Commandment

"You shall have no other gods before Me." —Exodus 20:3 Alan Redpath said, "Our god is the person we think the most precious, for whom we would make the greatest sacrifice, and moves our hearts with the warmest love. He or it is the person who, if we lost him, would leave us desolate." That really opens up the possibilities. There are many things that can be a god in our lives. It is basically what we live for, what we think about, and what we get up for in the morning. For many, their god is themselves. They worship themselves. Romans 1:25 describes those "who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." Some people worship their bodies. And though I am not against keeping yourself in shape, the pendulum can swing too far that way. Then there are people who are absolutely absorbed with their appearance. They invest hours and hours into trying to look a certain way. Others worship the god of success or the god of pleasure. Philippians 3:19 refers to people "whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things." Then there is the god of possessions. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). Every man, every woman, has a god—someone or something they live for, some pursuit in life they get passionate about. And the true but terrifying thought is that a person can worship in church every Sunday, but in fact be a full-tilt idolater. Used with Permission