The First Commandment
The first commandment about worshiping other gods states: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Some say, we know that the first commandment applied for the polytheistic and heathen nation at Mosses time but how does it apply for us today we who already believe in the One God?
The Lord requires us to worship Him because He is the only true God. He asks us to put Him before all else, to put Him first in our love and our lives. Jesus taught this in the sermon on the mount, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
We are often consumed in working “for the food which perishes” (John 6:27) and seek water the doesn’t quench our thirst (John 4:13). We “spend money for what is not bread,” and “does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2). But the Lord wants us to make first things first, and promises us that all the secondary things in life will be given to us according to our need.
Belief in God alone is not enough, we need to know Him in a personal way through daily study of His Word and prayer (John 15:4). It is our duty to know and to love the One, who left heaven and came down to earth to save us (John 3:16).
Dependence upon something else other than God, whether it be riches, knowledge, career, or friends, puts our lives in the wrong path. It is hard to fight against the attractions of the world, and so easy to depend on that which is seen and felt (Matthew 6:19–34; 1 John 2:15–17). But we should focus our whole hearts on God, the source of every good blessing (James 1:17).
We need to pray for God’s grace that we may not violate the spirit of the first commandment by worshiping other gods in our materialistic world. We should not place our trust in trivial things and forget the One who created all things for us to enjoy. We should “not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
