Exodus 20:1-3 – And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me.
The previous verse is one of the first I ever learned. I probably heard it for the first time, while watching the movie, “The 10 Commandments”. Moses coming down off the mountain with the tablets in his arms, is a lasting image.
However, I did not know then, and didn’t understand for a long time, the true meaning of this verse. I thought God was saying, “You will have no other gods before me, but you can have some after me.” In other words, God comes first before other things of importance in our lives.
As I grew in my understanding of the Bible, I came to know that God meant that we should have no other gods in His sight. So, no other gods at all, because everything is within His sight.
The $1,000,000 Question
The question is, now that I understand this truth, am I obeying this commandment and ridding my life of all other gods?
Sadly, the answer to this is NO. I continue to entertain lust in my heart, and my eyes. I have not fully embraced Paul’s message in his letter to the saints in Rome.
Romans 8:5 – For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
My mind, while often set on the things of the Spirit, wavers back and forth between fleshly desires and the Spiritual. This is a struggle that is not uncommon, as many of us have such a difficult time letting go of the former things. It’s a battle that we must invest in completely, because the value of Christ’s sacrifice for our freedom is immeasurable.
Colossians 3:1-4 – If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
The Solution
They key is focusing on the things of God, or things above as the verse from Colossians says. Reading His Word, praying often, fellowship with other believers and ridding our lives of as much temptation as possible.
The more we do these things, the less selfish we will be. Selfishness is the root of the problem. We are not putting God first when we feed lust, we are loving ourselves. We must identify the real object of our affection and pour our love into Him.
Matthew 22:37 – And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
~~ a befreeinChrist writing ~~