No Other Gods?

Most of us who call ourselves by the name “Christian” would say that the God of the Bible is the one and only true God.  And most of us would also say that this is the only god we love and serve.  But are we sure about that?  Yesterday’s sermon at church and my own recent walk with God have got me thinking . . .

Most of my life, the first of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3) has been interpreted in terms of order: make sure the God of the Bible has the first position in my life, and then everything else that I love can find a proper place beneath him.  But this is only part of the picture.  The wording in that first commandment isn’t even about what order God has in my life among a myriad of other gods.  It literally says that I am not to allow any other gods to be in God’s presence . . . ever.  It’s not OK to give “god status” to anything besides the God of the Bible.  Period.

Most of us Christians in our culture don’t think we actually have any other gods.  We work hard to keep God first and then believe that everything else we think about and do is OK.  We’ve heard all sermons on the god of money, the god of possessions, and the god of greed, so we think we’re doing OK because we haven’t succumbed to any of those on a regular basis.  But what other things, even good things, do we allow to share God’s presence in our lives?

Jesus had a lot to say about other gods, and most of it was hard to hear; so here are some things that God has laid on my heart for us all to think about.  Do we ever allow the god of control, which can lead to the gods of fear and worry, to share the same space as the one true God (Matthew 6:25-34)?  Do we ever allow the god of comfort to keep us from stepping out to do what God is telling us to do (Matthew 8:20)?  Do we ever allow the god of family, God’s precious gift to us, to occupy the space reserved for God’s presence in our lives (Matthew 10:37)?  I could go on, but you get the picture.  Just about anything in our lives can become a god (off-and-on or all the time) when we allow it to co-exist in God’s presence.

Maybe it’s time to rethink the hard sayings of Jesus and truly have no other gods besides the one true God.  Whether we think so or not, he is truly all we need.  God’s heart is to give us good gifts, but his presence in our lives fills every hole we think we have and provides us with everything we truly need.  The more we keep him in the position he deserves – as the ONLY god in our lives – the more we learn this and recognize how relationship with him trumps anything else that could possibly vie for our attention.