No Other God
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3
When we used to leave our girls at home by themselves, we left instructions.
“Do this–or don’t do that. Don’t open the door to anyone. Don’t answer the phone.”
They knew their grandmother was less than 5 minutes away and they knew we would only be gone an hour. They were old enough to be trusted for a few minutes alone…still we left instructions. They weren’t always followed to the letter.
Don’t fuss.
They fussed and even had the occasional fight. Yes. Girls. Our poor house had the cracked sheet rock and the occasional hole in the wall to prove it.
Clean your room.
To them, that meant, shove it under the bed out of sight.
God gave us clear instructions. Don’t put anything in My place. Don’t replace Me for things….or other people for Me. He wants a relationship with each one of us that is first in our hearts–and our lives.
Just like our daughters pushed every limit and then often completely ignored what we said, so do we as people. Even Christians. We have other gods.
Sometimes it’s a sport or activity that consumes almost all our waking hours. Whether it’s for our pleasure or for our kids enjoyment, before long, something meant for fun and good has consumed us and it has become a god.
When we idolize another human being (or team) we have just set them up as a god in our lives.
It saddens me that teens see the images on the covers of magazines and feel that they fall so short of being acceptable…and soon, being acceptable has become a god. But it’s not just teens is it? It’s us too. Men and women.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for being the best you you can possible be–and I think we all need to eat and exercise properly and not eat in excess foods that, consumed in a daily-steady diet, would be detrimental to our health (we all know what those are). But I’m noticing more and more those that –for some reason think they need to pull their shirts up to prove they’ve been working out. Really? Have you just made your body image a god? (And you have no clue what goes through a mans mind when he sees your image girls–well hey, not just girls…but guys are doing the same thing.) It saddens me. And, I think it saddens the heart of God.
When we seek the approval of others over God… we have made that a god in our lives.
When we cocoon ourselves inward simply because we weren’t spoken to–or applauded for doing what we know to do… have we just made that a god??
No other gods…. And yet we do. Whether it’s our own selves, or another person, or a job, or activity… if we put whatever it is -or whoever they are in front of our relationship God, then we have just done what He asked us not to do.
When we came home to find they had disobeyed–it saddened us.
To think of all the things they could have been doing and they chose to do the very opposite of what we asked…. well, if you are a parent, I don’t have to describe the disappointment.
No other gods….
I find myself dissatisfied in examining my own life. What have I put in place of God. What am I feeding my spirit?
What about you?
What are you standing in front of today?
What’s in your field of vision that’s blocking any sight or sound of the voice and heart of God?
(c) Angie Knight 2015. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Photography by Angie Knight. Copyright protected.
I love you Angie! Thank you.
Great insight Angie! Sometimes what we value, we worship instead.
bless you my sweet friend.
Very good word my Angie gril, I do not want to have any other god before God Almighty. Love mama doodle, Gloria