God First

2/25/09

How many of us look to something other than God to fulfill our needs?  I, personally, have to fight against food being the first on my list.  When I have a bad day, instead of going directly to my maker, quite often I want to grab cookies, crackers and peanut butter, chips, etc. to give me a sense of relief.  Now, obviously food is not the only vice out there, but it probably is the most common one.  We also have alcohol, drugs, pornography and sexual sin, and a host of other items.

It’s not always the things that are bad for us, on the other hand, that can be a vice.  The Microsoft Works Dictionary defines the word vice as “in place of or instead of somebody or something.“  Think about it.  If that somebody or something is God, then we are by the very definition of the word, putting things in place of Him in our lives.  Let’s take exercise, for example.  Does God want us to exercise regularly and take care of our bodies?  Of course! “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV)  Where is the honor to God, however, if exercise becomes greater to us than He is?  “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8, NIV)

Ok, ladies.  Here’s one you may not like.  What about shopping?  I admit that I love to shop.  It’s an outlet for me, and something I believe that God wants me to enjoy.  I usually don’t buy too much because I tend to be painfully frugal; but, if I were to start putting my wants ahead of tithing or even my family’s needs, then I have made shopping (or more accurately the things that I purchase) more important than my relationship with God.  If we take anything, including something as good for us as exercise, or something as fun as shopping, and place it ahead of God in our lives, that is a sin.  The first of God’s Ten Commandments addresses this issue directly.  “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3, NIV)  I believe God was referring not only to other ‘gods’, but anything that we put in place of Him in our lives.  Keep in mind that God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:4), and He wants nothing coming between us and Him.  As we pray, we should ask God to show us if we have placed anything before our relationship with Him.