March 26

Deuteronomy 5-6

Luke 7:11-35

Psalm 68:19-35

Proverbs 11:29-31

Deuteronomy 5:7

"You shall have no other gods before me."

It's very easy for me to get the wrong idea about this commandment. Have no other gods before the Lord. Sounds easy enough, right? I mean, I think it's safe to say that none of us bow down to golden calves or think that Zeus is on Mount Olympus throwing lightening bolts at us. There is one and only one God who created the entire universe and has power over it. Got it, no problem, piece of cake.

Actually, there is a problem. Because the word "god" is not limited to statues or mythical beings. A god can be anything. When we put anything other than God first in our lives, then we have just made it a god. With this definition of god, I have just made the possibilities of endless. Oh no... this commandment is no longer as easy as I thought it was. In fact, I get this wrong every single day. My ambitions, my possessions, my job, my family, my husband, my dog, my house, my time, my favorite tv show, food, drinks, money, acceptance, success, comfort... these are just a portion of the "gods" that I put before God. 

Kelly Minter wrote a book called No Other gods: Confronting Our Modern-day Idols. In the first chapter she tells about going to a museum that had an exhibit on ancient Egypt. The museum provided headsets and MP3 players that gave the history of each item with a very pleasant sounding British woman narrating. She stopped in front of a large staute of a sphinx holding a symbol of life. Here is how she tells it:

     "As I took notice of every detail, I remember thinking how I couldn't imagine that anyone would ever believe that this lifeless rock could do anything, much less give life. I remember thinking how strange it hit me, how I could never see myself hoping for life to spring from stone. Until the next words that crossed through my mind were 'You do it all the time.' (This was no longer the British woman.) In fact, the words weren't even audible, but every bit as definitive. If you can know a silent voice, I knew this one.

     'Lord, I would never look for life from something like this.'

     'But you look for life in lesser things than me all the time, every day.'

     I was struck. Quiet, I stood before this idol suddenly aware that all the things I had placed my full hope in were not a hair more able."

What gods are you putting in place of God? Ask Him to help you recognize them and then get them out of the way. Looking for life anywhere else will only leave you empty and unsatisfied. He commands us to put Him first because He deserves to be first and also because it's what we need. 

"I lift a knife to the thing I love most

Praying You'll come so I can have both

What I need is for You to touch me

What I need is for You to be the thing that I need."

- David Crowder, Let Me Feel You Shine