God says in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This is the first of the 10 Ten Commandments. The word “gods” refers to exactly that: gods. Supreme beings. God is referring to not putting anyone or anything up to the level of himself.
This was a major temptation for the Israelites, and later on we see it play out in Judges (among other places). Most of the time, the Israelites would not flat-out reject God and move to another god, like someone might move from being a Christian to being a Buddhist. The bigger temptation for the Israelites was to take outside gods (ones they saw in neighboring countries) and put them to the same level as the true God. They would often turn into polytheists… worshipping multiple gods (including the true God).
And God says right at the beginning, right in commandment one… “NO! Don’t do that! Don’t worship other things like they are at my level.”
Sadly, this is a big issue for us today, though on a more subtle level. Many of us still claim to only worship God. We only go to one church. But where do we direct our worship the rest of the week? On Monday through Saturday, is God still the only God in our life? Or on Monday, do we take the god of money, or the god of work, or the god of _____, and put them at the same level as God?
Or maybe it’s not even the same level, but it’s close.
I recently read an article about deaths in the Grand Canyon. The article talked about all of the deaths that happen there. And while some are from natural disasters and some are from suicide, (if I remember correctly), the highest amount was simply from getting too close to the edge. Many people would slip and fall simply from carelessness.
I want to challenge you NOT to let that be you. God, the true God, is the ONLY one who is worthy of worship. So let’s not carelessly add other things or people anywhere near the level of where God should be.
Today, let’s be intentional about making sure that we do not put any other gods before God.