Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Ex 20:3)
Well, this seems pretty straight forward. One God - just Him, nobody else. Sounds simple enough too, doesn't it??? Not quite as simple as one may think.
Today, in this world, we have many 'gods'. There is the god of money, the god of fashion (both men and women), the god of prestige, the god of 'things', and lets not forget the god of 'sports'!
God doesn't tell us that these things are bad. He doesn't tell us not to work to earn our living, not to dress appropriately, not to enjoy our success and the things we've acquired and not to enjoy a good ball game. What He does tell us is that He is to come before all these things. "Well, I go to church on Sunday" you may say. Good for you! Glad to hear it! What do you do the other six days of the week? Church is an hour. Take out eight for sleeping and that leaves you with 112 hours. We'll give you two for Sunday (getting there, getting home and actually worshiping) leaving you 110 hours. Take out 45 for work (I'll give you an hour for the commute) which leaves you 65. I'll be generous and give you 14 hours for meals (it doesn't generally take an hour to eat but again, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt). That leaves 51 hours. (You see where I'm going with this, don't you?) By the end of the week, you have about as much "play" time as you have "work time" and yes, we all deserve to rest and relax and enjoy our time off - but what about God? Where does He fit into your schedule?
Out of those 112 hours you are awake, you've given Him 2! On your list of "gods", does He fall to the bottom? Is everything else more important than He is? Examine your own heart. What 'gods' can you NOT worship by allowing them to consume your time and energy before giving it to the Lord? This is not to say that you cannot enjoy a good movie, buy a new outfit or go to a ball game. Moderation! God's list of "do's and don't's" include excess and laziness in the "don't" column. When you buy that new outfit, was there something else you could have done with that money? Was there a family in need who may have benefited from it? When you ate the 5 course meal at the restaurant, was there a person you know who could have used not only a good meal (at an obviously less expensive restaurant) and the company of someone? That baseball game you went to - could you also have taken a friend with you who really could use a day out? Think of what others think. Not their opinions, but what it might be like to not have what you have. Would you not want someone to offer you a little joy if the tables were turned? That's part of what's on the "do" list! All that you have in your life you have because God has blessed you! Yes, you've worked hard for it (some work so hard that they come home from work one day and their family is gone). Don't neglect your obligations to you fellow man and to your family. Put God above all - He should come first, for it is to Him, and only Him we offer our praises and thanksgiving! Don't get so caught up in your toys and joys that you thank Him as an afterthought! Thank Him every day, for everything! Take the time to spend with Him - take 20 minutes - read His word, sing Him a song and offer your praises (not just your prayers). Make Him your priority as you have always been His!
