Focal Passage: Exodus 20:1-6; Psalm 16:1-4, 9-11
What is something you love? I love to fly fish. Fly fishing brings me great joy. I am sure you have something that you love as well.
However, there is an issue we face when it comes to something that we love. That issue is, when do we go from “loving” something to making it an “idol?” A simple way to think of an idol is anything that comes before God.
When looking at Exodus chapter 20, we see that we are not to have any idols before God. God is to have first place in every aspect of our lives. That means God should be first in all things.
This sounds simple, however our lives often fail to reflect this truth. When we look at the giving of the “Ten Commandments,” one of the main things God was doing was to make the nation of Israel look different than everyone else. Almost everyone at the time worshiped many gods.
This was not going to fly with the one true God who had delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. God is to be worshiped and He alone is worthy of our worship.
Catching a monster trout brings me joy, however that joy does not last. The joy that comes from God being first in our lives is a joy that does not last a few days, but for all of eternity.