No Other Gods

The first commandment is my favorite.  “You shall have no other God’s before me.”  Often we understand that command as a statement of monotheism.  That is, the intellectual belief that there is only one God.

When we accept that, then we can say things like, “however you choose to worship God, it’s the same God as mine.”  This works well in an increasingly relativistic and pluralistic culture where diversity of belief is valued.  This command means more than “there is only one God.”  This command means the God presented in the Bible claims to have the right to demand that you worship him alone, regardless of whatever other gods may be fighting for your attention.

The reality is that there are many “gods.” There are gods that promise satisfaction.  Materialism, the desire for stuff.  Self, the god who promises to meet every need you have.  Even very real spiritual agents that promise to fulfill lusts and passions of every sort if only you will follow them.

The creator of the Universe, however enters into our world and demands that we worship him alone and not “be in his face” with other gods.  That we deny these other gods and worship him alone.

The truth is these other gods will always let us down.  The creator who came ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ is the only one we should pledge our obedience, worship, and faithfulness to.

What other gods are trying to get you to worship them?  What other gods do you worship? How will you respond to this demand from the creator to you personally right now?