Who Do You Worship?
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the LORD
your God, and serve him only.’” – Matthew 4:10
Do you remember when Jesus said this? It was when He
was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. The devil had offered Jesus all
the kingdoms of the world and all of their splendor. He promised it to Jesus if
He would only do one thing: worship Satan.
Of course, we’re to worship God first. We know that.
It’s one of the Ten Commandments. We would never bow down and worship another
god. That’s what we say anyway. But are you sure?
There are many types of gods in our lives, whether we
acknowledge them as such or not. For some, their god becomes the volunteer work
they’re committed to. It becomes their life and everything else revolves around
it. Volunteer work is a good thing. Surely, it is. Until it becomes more
important that God.
Another common god is money. There are those who will
do anything, sacrifice anything, to earn more and more money. They are never
satisfied. Every dollar seems to fuel a need for ten more. It’s what they think
about constantly. Money has replaced God in their hearts.
Or consider the children in your life. They are gifts
from God and, surely, we are to prize them above all else. Except how often do
we opt out of time with God because the kids’ activities interfere with it? How
often do we miss church because of a sporting event? How often do we forgo
tithing because that new pageant dress or tech toy that all the other kids have
is really more than we can afford? We want our kids to be the best and have the
best – even if that means God gets less and less and less.
Is any of this making sense yet? Whatever you focus
your time and attention on the most is what you worship. It is your idol. It is
what you value more than God.
Don’t get me wrong. None of the things I’ve mentioned,
nor any of the many others I could have mentioned, are bad. They aren’t. It’s
good to volunteer. It’s good to work hard. It’s good to give and do for your
children. It’s when it reaches an extreme that it starts to edge deeper into
your heart, pulling you farther and farther away from God.
God wants your heart. He wants all of you, but He
understands that it’s our heart that determines how the rest of us will go. God
made us with a thirst that only He can quench. One pastor called it a worship
chip. It’s the only thing that will fill us up and make us whole.
When we try to shove all the other things of our lives
into that hole, it only pulls us away from God and makes us miserably unhappy.
We are made to worship God first and nothing else will ever satisfy us.
So, the next time you find your focus pulling away
from God stop and consider your priorities. The next time you make a choice
that puts something or someone before God, take a moment to really think about why
you are making that choice. The slope away from God is slippery. Satan makes
sure of that. Don’t let him lead you someplace you never intended to go by
worshipping an idol you never intended to worship.
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