February 18

We now begin the Laws of Moses.

During my high school years I had the prodigious job of being a lifeguard at one of the public pools in Allentown, Pa. We had the “commandments” of pool life published on a board as you entered the pool area. There were commandments like… no pushing people into water, no running, no diving in the shallow end, no swimming in the diving area, no glass bottles and no babies in diapers allowed in the pool.
Many of the kids didn’t like the commandments. They complained that the commandments were too restrictive, that they cramped their style, that they were not fun, and that everyone was doing these things at other pools.

Dream with me for a moment what pool life would be without the commandments. I can see a group of kids wanting to just have fun as they grab a friend and throw him into deep water. The problem is the kid can’t swim. Pushing people into the pool is fun for the pushers but what about the pushee? Lifting the commandment to dive into the shallow end would have catastrophic results. And how about allowing babies in diapers... let’s not even go there.

Why did we have “the pool commandments?” Were the lifeguards crabby people who were hungry for power? Did we want to force our narrow ways on people? No, the commandments were given to provide the best pool experience for everyone. They were designed to maximize the joy of all swimmers. These commandments were given to protect lives. No one ever drowned under my guard.

God gave us the 10 commandments for the same reason. God is not trying to take away our fun. He is providing the best possible life for everyone.

The first commandment is that we should have no other gods before God. Literally this is “you shall have no other gods before my face.” This idiom means we should have no other gods in his presence, no other gods even near him. Hebrew scholars tell us that this is the language of a marriage ceremony. God expects us to give him our lives and our total allegiance.

Imagine being at your wedding ceremony and your wife says to you, “Honey, I do love you, but there are a lot of things that need to be done in marriage. So I want to love another guy and bring him into our marriage.” How would you feel? How do you think God feels when we want to bring other gods into our heart? The bottom line is the first commandment says “I am your only God.” God demands to be our first priority in life.

USA Today on Jan 10, 2007 carried a headline article on the Gen Y generation. Gen Y are people 18-25 years old. When asked what their top life priorities were:
81% said their top life goal was to get rich. .
51% said their second goal was to become famous.
10% said their goal was to become more spiritual.

Even from a casual observation, it is clear that the vast majority of people are breaking the very first commandment. So let me ask you these questions as we begin to study the law:
What is the most important priority in your life?
What does your heart beat fast for? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
What’s your mission in life? Can you really say that God is your number one priority?

God in first place in our lives is the only way we will ever find joy.