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Thursday, March 26, 2009

Priorities

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[March 26, 2009]-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.”-Exodus 20:2-3

Way back in the day, the Israelites struggled with fidelity. There is a reason that the entire book of Hosea compares them to an adulterous prostitute; when it came to gods, they had a wandering eye. When Moses offered this first of the ten commandments he did so with the knowledge that the people would always be looking for a better deal. They would think they had found it on occasion with ancient gods like Ba’al et al., but they always came back. The story of the Old Testament is largely a story of the Jewish people straying from and returning to God. This commandment is the strongest reminder that they should never wander too far.

Today we do not have this problem. Today most Christians don’t worship other deities, they largely stick with the Christian God when it comes to prayer and service. Our idolatry manifests itself in the way we practice our faith. It is a bit of a cliché at this point to say that things like money and sports and entertainment and patriotism have become our idols, but such is the case. When idolatry in our day is taken in its larger context, then, we see that idolatry is largely an issue of priorities. Where is God in our lives? Is God at the top of the food chain? Is Jesus the king of the hill? Is the Holy Spirit the head honcho? Most often the answers to these questions is simple…no. Our failure in this day and age is not worshipping other gods it is prioritizing other things above and beyond God.

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When Moses laid out this commandment he began by reminding the people that it was God who had set them free from the bonds of slavery in Egypt. They should remember what God had done for them. Thus as we think about our fidelity to God we should begin by remembering God’s fidelity to us. Even when we stray, even when we forget, God does not stray and God does not forget. God is faithful to you! God loves you when you choose another path. God loves you when you sleep through worship. God loves you when you fail to love your neighbor. This is the Lord your God, who died and was raised again for you to bring you out of slavery to sin. This God has set you free. During this Lenten season we should remember that God deserves nothing less than our lives. Idolatry tells us this is a lie, that there are more important things than God. But in our hearts we know the truth, that in the end our lives and this world are all about God.

Prayer: Holy God, help me on this day to focus on you. Help me to follow you and serve you with my whole life. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[Text from file received by Phil Blackburn]

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