Dave’s Monday Blast – June 27, 2016
Off to a fast start today as we have Vacation Bible School going on….super fun and very busy! There is something about the simplicity of listening to little ones worshiping the Lord that makes me consider His place in my life.
I think we would all agree that we live in an idolatrous world. Pastor Kyle Idleman wrote in his book, The Gods at War, that idolatry is the battle that has been waged from the beginning of humankind between the Creator and his Creation. Idleman writes, “There are false gods at war within each of us, and they battle for the place of glory and control in our lives. What keeps us from truly following Jesus as He intended is that our hearts are pursuing something or someone else. Behind the sin you’re struggling with, the discouragement you’re dealing with, the lack of purpose you’re living with is a false god that is winning the war for your heart.” According to Idleman, idolatry isn’t an issue…it is the issue.
We must constantly ask ourselves these questions, What do you sacrifice for? What makes you mad? What do you worry about? Whose applause do you long for? We’re all wired for worship, but we often end up valuing and honoring the idols of money, sex, food, romance, success, and many others that keep us from the intimate relationship with God that we desire. “What god do you serve?”
A group of seminary students were given the task of organizing the Ten Commandments in their perceived order of importance. Interestingly, these students felt that the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder,” should be number-one on the list. The seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” was also placed near the top. But the group relegated the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me,” to the very bottom of the list. They didn’t think it was all that important. Oh my!
In God’s listing, however, it is a different story. He puts this commandment at the top of the list. But why is it the number-one offense to God? It comes down to this: If you have broken this one (and we all wrestle daily with our personal idolatry), then everything else will fall apart. You can not commit any sin against God without first committing the sin of idolatry. One day a man came to Jesus and asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” (Mark 12:28). Jesus responded, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (verse 29) With this statement, Jesus essentially summed up all the commandments: Put God in His rightful place….which is on the throne!
Let us strive this week to make Him number-one in our lives. Remember what the theologian Augustine said, “I will love God…and do as I please.” The order matters! I want to expand upon this a bit more next week…expect the blast to come out on Tuesday, as Monday is the 4th.
