Exodus 20:4-6 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

This is the first of Ten Commandments. It is a little longer than most people quote it. They tend to only quote verse 3 in saying “you shall have no gods before me.” Why is it important to make this distinction? How about taking on a god after The Lord your God? Is it right to have other gods after the Lord?

People do not often think that way. They believe in the One True God but then they fail to recognize they idolize people. Athletes, actors, authors, business men and anyone who has caught the attention of the media including the media itself are all candidate for being idolized. Let us no limit that idolization to the world, pastors, preachers, evangelist, and prophets can be idolized just as well.

Let us break down the issue of idols from the issue of the first command. What does serving an idol look like in this modern era? Wanting to be just like a sports idol requires a dedication of examining the skills required to perform like that idol. Then there is practicing to improve those skills. Then there is the testing of those skills against others who have their own idols. With success comes personal fame and the building of a following.

Where you spend your time and effort says who you love. Does the Lord your God get as much time and effort as chasing your idol?

Luke 12:22-24 English Standard Version (ESV)

²² And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

The KJV renders ravens as birds of the air. I prefer that wording which allows me to see a chickadee rather than a scavengers. Being from Maine I know that the chickadee does not migrate south for the winter. They can be seen all winter in Maine. Maine winters can be very harsh, so the image of the chickadee is pleasant to me.

Ravens are opportunists. I would not like to think of myself as an opportunist. How they survive harsh winters is not a pleasant image. Thinking that way makes me anxious. Since the issue of these verses is anxiety, what reassurances can we find in them?

God provides. How do we find God’s provisions? Since the previous devotional was about Kingdom living then the King provides by decree. He tells us what we deserve, where we can obtain it, and how to access it. It is all about hearing the decree of the King. Otherwise we go through life like scavengers.

The happiest people are the ones who can make a living doing what they love. The only question to be answered there is, which kingdom do they call their home? The world or God’s Kingdom are the only two choices.

Kingdom dwellers seek for God to be glorified. Worldly dwellers seek glory for themselves.

Who do you idolize?