Putting God First

In Exodus 20, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Verses 1-3 say, “Then God gave the people all these instructions. I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me” (NLT). This was the first of Ten Commandments. Before addressing any behavioral issues, God addressed their allegiance. He didn’t rescue them so they could return to a life of slavery. He rescued them so they could fully belong to Him. While we don’t see many idols like they worshipped back then, we do have some things we put before God. Those are the things that God is identifying in the first commandment that we all wrestle with.

One of the gods many people put before Him is the god of success where we put results over righteousness. When we cut corners, cheat, lie and do whatever it takes to get the outcome we want instead of living the way God calls us to live, we put success before God. The great things is that God is not opposed to success. There are many people who follow the principles in the Bible and live very successful lives. What God is against is coming in second or third in your life. Jesus said when we seek first the Kingdom of God, all these other things would be added to us. Remember that God doesn’t call you to be impressive or successful. He calls you to be faithful and to place Him first.

God is looking for leaders in each generation who will stand up for the truth, honor Him with their lives and be faithful to Him above all else. We can say what we believe all we want, but what are our lives showing? Jesus referred to Deuteronomy 6:5 as the greatest commandment. It says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” When we love God in our heart, that is the core of our inner life, it shows in every area of who we are. When we love Him with our soul, which is our identity, it shows in our passions, emotions and personality. Finally, when we love Him with all our strength, that is our resources, influence and energy, we serve His
purposes with our life above all else. Don’t just say you put God first. Live it out every day of your life with your whole being!

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash